


Of Pumpkins and Vodka

by rarepairqueen



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Drinking, M/M, Polyamory, Possible smut in future, Teenage Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-25 00:06:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4939108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarepairqueen/pseuds/rarepairqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nearly one year after the Winter Cup Akashi decided that enough was enough, he'd get the GoM together again for a week of spooky celebrations before their lives once again centred around the game of basketball.<br/>What he didn't anticipate was not that his former team-mates were all dating guys but that a certain ace was oblivious to it all despite being in constant contact with the group.</p><p>aka: Aomine is an unobservant person and Imayoshi is determined to open the ace's eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A hand of Aces

**Author's Note:**

> So I had this idea knocking around since the game Until Dawn came out, just something about the GoM staying in a lodge on Halloween seemed amusing to me.  
> I'm intending to finish this fic actually on Halloween so updates will probably have no actual schedule and may come in short bursts as I slowly run out of time.  
> Also, I don't write in 3rd person a lot so this may be worded in an odd fashion as I grapple with stepping out of my comfort zone.  
> Any suggestions for future chapters are encouraged and welcome at any time - just bear in mind that I may not use them for one reason or another!  
> With that said, I hope you enjoy!

"You smell like a wet dog." Midorima sighed, standing in the doorway of the lodge. Aomine showed his middle finger to the Shuutoku ace, jacket still damp from the downpour he had been caught in.

"Nice to see you too Midorima." Imayoshi murmured, pushing past the younger male into the warmth of the lodge.

The two Touou players were the last to arrive of those invited to the Akashi residence, their host had been strangely obsessed with getting the Miracles together for Halloween since they all competed in the Winter Cup. After a few death threats over social media and Furihata - the heir's skittish lover for the past six months - sending more watered down requests, the six miracles had agreed to spend the last week of October in a lodge in northern Japan, agreeing to all bring a plus one to liven things up.

Kagami hadn't been too sure what to think when Kuroko first suggested going, after his first off-court fiasco with Akashi ended with a pair of scissors being shoved near his face he wasn't sure if he wanted to be under the same roof as the devil incarnate. However the months of online conversations between him and the rest of the miracles had somewhat made him realise that they weren't as bad as he first thought. So he agreed to join Kuroko on this one week retreat in the middle of nowhere.

He did feel comfortable in the lodge that screamed rustic American architecture; it was very open-plan and boasted large windows in the lounge to overlook the forest in the valley, there were enough bedrooms for everyone assuming they all doubled up - which wouldn't be a problem at all - and enough space for the group to not feel caged in.

Everyone had immediately sprawled out on the three couches on the main floor, with the kitchen just around the corner Murisakibara had already helped himself to the snack cupboard that was unlocked and was being fed chips by Himuro, Kasamatsu was doing his best to not hit his former team-mate for being so _loud_ but was beginning to have his patience tested as Kise called out in greeting to Aomine.

"Right. Now that everyone's here I need to introduce you to someone." Akashi declared, Aomine squeezed onto a couch with Kuroko and Kagami whilst Imayoshi just folded his arms in mild curiosity behind them. "So obviously my father wouldn't have let me do this without a catch so he's employed one of our house staff to watch over things here - mainly for my protection - he's not our slave, we still have to cook for ourselves but he will be here in case we need something."

"Young master I do believe your father instructed me to cook for you." A soft but authoritative voice remarked from down the hall. A tall, slim gentleman strode into the area wearing a dark pair of jeans and a white waistcoat. His hair was short like Kagami's but a dark brown instead, he seemed to not actually be that much older than them but he had an air of authority about him that Kagami wasn't going to question.

"Naoki." Akashi stated, his eye flickering orange for a few seconds before Furihata squeezed his hand. The heir sighed and gestured to the older man. "This is Naoki, he's one of my personal staff members, out of all of them I trust him the most."

"And how much are we gonna get away with?" Kise asked, an amused glint in his eye which could only mean bad things.

Akashi simply gestured for the older male to answer.

"I do not have any rules Ryouta." Naoki stated with a grin similar to Imayoshi's. "I am merely here to ensure that the young master does not come to harm or bring shame upon his family. I have no problem with drinking or sex as long as nothing is broken and no-one is injured."

With no other matters needing to be addressed, Naoki bowed respectfully and walked towards the bedrooms that he was delivering cases to.

"Wait, he just said he had no problems with sex? What kind of group does he think we are?!" Aomine exclaimed.

Akashi merely smiled, a slightly disturbing thing in itself before he focused his eyes on the bluenette. "Very well Daiki, at least we know who's actually going to be sleeping."

Kagami tried not to laugh at Aomine's confused expression, he really was oblivious to his former team-mates current relationship status' wasn't he? Kuroko nudged Kagami in the ribs to try and stop him from bursting into laughter, it would only infuriate the Touou ace and with the other Akashi currently in charge who knew what would happen.

Murisakibara yawned loudly, breaking the silence. "I'm hungry."

"You've been eating since you got here!" Midorima exclaimed from the opposite couch, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with bandaged fingers.

"Kaga-chin can you make me food?"

"Like hell!" Kagami replied.

"Actually Taiga you _could_." Himuro remarked, raising an eyebrow at his little brother.

"Kagamicchi please make us some food!"

A small argument broke out before Kasamatsu lost his patience with Kise and slapped him so hard on the back of the head that he fell off the couch.

"Senpai is mean~"

Kuroko couldn't help but smile at the scene before him, his friends could be idiots sometimes but they were _his_ idiots. Once Kise stopped whining Furihata took control, before Akashi could kill them all, and suggested that Kagami actually did make them some snacks for later, nothing fancy just enough to keep everyone happy. There wasn't much room for Kagami to argue although he did recruit Takao and Himuro to 'help' him.

 

\---

 

"Kaga-chin is the best cook~"

"I wouldn't go that far." Kagami uttered, poking at the sticky rice dumplings on the plate. "I just found the right ingredients to cook up something quickly."

"But still, this dango is pretty sweet." Furihata remarked.

The murmurs of agreement rose around the group, they were sat in the remodelled basement of the lodge; a lounge-style room with a wall mounted TV above a lit fireplace and three more comfortable plush couches framed the two of them. There were doors leading to bedrooms and a bathroom, one of which Kagami was staying in with Kuroko, the large windows that overlooked the forest like the ones upstairs let in the fading light of day as Takao pounced on the last of the dango.

"Takao why do you have flour on your face?" Midorima sighed, pulling the smaller boy by the wrist like he was a scolding a child.

"Himuro and I had a flour fight Shin-chan!" The point guard pointed at the Yousen player across the small space between the couches.

"Well clearly he won because you're the one still covered in it."

Takao laughed as Midorima tried to get the white powder off of his face, it was unusual to see the Shuutoku ace so flustered but that's what happens in the company of both old and new friends. Akashi was back to his more relaxed self and Kagami even caught the faintest of smiles on the captain's face as he surveyed the scene, an arm wrapped around Furihata as both a sign of affection but also a warning to everyone else.

"Mido-chin should just lick it off like I did with Muro-chin." Murisakibara hummed, licking his fingers that were still covered in sugary syrup.

"Wait _that's_ why Himuro doesn't have a trace of it on him?" Aomine looked legitimately surprised, which only fuelled Kise's laughter that had so far been suppressed by Kasamatsu's lazy hands running through the blond's unkempt hair.

"Aomine-kun, you should know that nothing comes between Murisakibara-kun and food." Kuroko stated with a small smile. Kagami was ready to continue the joke when Imayoshi got there first.

"Really Aomine? You don't see it do you?" He grinned, he had noticed what had happened in the few months that the group hadn't seen each other and he found it rather amusing that Aomine hadn't.

The ace gave his senpai a puzzled look before glancing around the group and shaking his head.

"The brat clearly is as dim-witted as he is arrogant." Kasamatsu sighed, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he ran his hand through Kise's hair again and gained a small noise of content in response.

"Wait--" Aomine looked around the group, brows furrowed as he thought. "...no I don't get it."

Everyone sighed, Takao laughed as Midorima finally got the last trace of flour from his cheek. Akashi declined to say anything, he was enjoying the clearly idiotic Aomine who couldn't tell that most of his friends were fucking each other. It appealed to his more sadistic mindset.

"Himuro." The red-head stated, catching the Yousen player off-guard.

"Yes?" He replied coolly, not a trace of hesitation in his voice even though he was still weary of the heir.

"I happen to know that you're good at mixing drinks."

Kagami groaned, flashbacks of that time when Alex taught them both how to mix cocktails whirling through his mind. He woke up with a headache and bruised lips and he _still_ doesn't quite remember what Himuro had given him.

"I can do some basic stuff yeah. Is this your way of asking me to make some?"

Imayoshi smirked to himself, the idea of them all getting drunk was music to his ears, he didn't come all this way to bake cookies and tell ghost stories like middle schoolers.

After a bit more back and forth with Akashi, Himuro got up and walked over to where the bar was situated underneath the stairs. He examined the stocked cabinets and shelves before smiling, he pondered for a moment whether to go easy on the group or to just get them drunk quickly before letting out a small chuckle.

Kagami knew that chuckle meant bad news for him. Himuro was the only one who had seen him blackout drunk and if he knew his older brother any better, he'd swear that now would be the time for some revenge over the Winter Cup fiasco.

 

\---

 

"What is this?" Kasamatsu asked as the small glass was offered to him. He eyed the pinkish liquid suspiciously before taking it with a raised eyebrow.

"It's mainly whiskey." Himuro told him with a beaming smile before handing the rest of them out. Akashi seemed relatively impressed as he brought it to his nose to get an idea of what else was in this strange concoction.

"Does it have a _name_?" Midorima asked, just as sceptical as Kasamatsu.

"Not that I know of." Himuro lied, oh it had a name alright but he wasn't going to tell anyone.

Kuroko declined, he didn't like alcohol or anything that wasn't water or vanilla shake, Kagami chuckled and took his glass instead. Himuro made a mental note to make a slightly lighter drink for Kuroko later once he had gotten his fun out of the rest of them. If he was still sober enough that was.

"So are you all just gonna stare at them or drink them?" Akashi asked the rest of the group as he took the first sip. He wasn't an avid drinker but he had been known to sample some of his father's whisky from time to time so he had no problem with it.

The rest of them however had never had it before, the only one who seemed to enjoy it in the slightest was Imayoshi but that was hardly surprising.

"So you're not whisky drinkers...no worries I have others." Himuro strode back over to the bar and clattered about, Akashi finished off Furihata's drink after the other grimaced at the taste. Kagami was stuck in the predicament that he had not one drink but _two_ to finish off, with a shrug he downed them and regretted it almost immediately.

"What's wrong Bakagami? Can't handle your drink?" Aomine jeered.

"At least I finished mine." Kagami replied, gesturing to the glass in his rival's hand. "And Kuroko's."

Kise was about to join in with the bickering when Himuro came back with another tray of glasses, the liquid was cola coloured and two cherries bobbed between the ice cubes in each glass. Kasamatsu was still sceptical of this entire process as he accepted another glass from the shooting guard yet this time he tried to be more optimistic, especially as Kise was now teasing him by sucking on one of the cherries.

"This is rum isn't it?" Takao queried as he took a sip. Himuro nodded, offering a glass to Murisakibara who just took the cherries out and declined the rest.

"I think we should speed this up." Kagami declared, already beginning to tire from Himuro's stalling, he knew that the objective here was to get drunk and to do that he'd need to take control.

 

\---

 

"What are you _doing_?" Himuro hissed in Kagami's ear as he realised just what the red-head was about to serve everyone. "Most of them have never gotten drunk and you're gonna give them _that_?"

"Well yeah. Alex made us have three of these in one night. Which by the way, did you make out with me that night?"

Himuro did a good job of hiding his embarrassment but Kagami knew him too well. "I don't remember."

"Bullshit! You made out with me against the bathroom door, I have vague memories of it and I'm sure Alex has a photo somewhere--"

"Shut up Taiga."

"Course, you aren't publicising that you and gluttony are a thing are you?"

"Taiga I'm warning you."

"What's taking you two so long?" Aomine called, slightly irritated.

Kagami smiled at Himuro, knowing that he had the upper hand. "Just serve them okay?"

The shooting guard smiled, it was one that signalled a pause in their argument as he picked up the tray of shot glasses. Kagami followed him back to the others, handing a glass to Kuroko and whispering to him what the glass contained, that it was his call whether or not he wanted to drink it.

"So what's _this_?" Imayoshi asked before Kasamatsu could. "I haven't seen this one before."

"Our mentor showed us how to make this one." Kagami replied with a devilish grin. "It proved very...effective."

Kise was the first one who dared to drink it, he winced and shook his head as he set the glass down on the coffee table with a thud. Kasamatsu glared at Kagami before the blond started giggling and telling him to drink his already. After proving that Kise was still alive, the rest of the group took their shots, a variety of reactions being shown from Akashi's disgust to Takao declaring he wanted another.

"Before you ask, it was vodka, triple sec and lime." Himuro replied, regretting having that shot now that he had to pour a second round.

And a third.

And a fourth.

Even though Kuroko was reluctant at first, he caved in and downed one, nearly spluttering everywhere when the harsh taste burned his throat but he regained composure. Kise was the first one to go, he buried his face in Kasamatsu's neck, pressing sloppy and giggly kisses to his former captain's exposed skin. The older boy didn't seem too annoyed, he seemed far too concerned with not letting the blond fall off the couch or fall backwards into Akashi.

The heir wasn't exactly clear-minded either, although he was doing a better job of hiding his buzzing mind. Fingers lingered around the hem of Furihata's shirt as the brunette idly trailed his hand over his lover's thigh. Takao was a loud drunk. Midorima was possessive, practically pulling the small boy closer to him than before and very nearly shutting Takao's drunken babbling up with a kiss.

Murisakibara was hardly intoxicated, he refused to drink anything himself until Himuro fed it to him through kisses, the giant would declare that 'it tasted better when coming from Muro-chin' which caused Kagami to nearly choke on his fourth shot.

Aomine was still none-the-wiser it seemed, staring at the flickering embers in the fireplace until Imayoshi snapped is fingers in front of his face. The ace blinked and uttered a cuss word before looking up at his senpai in confusion.

"Y-You're not real." He murmured though his hazy thoughts.

"Daiki, I am real. You're just drunk." Imayoshi replied with a grin, aside from Kuroko he was probably the most sober one but that didn't mean anything.

With Himuro otherwise occupied and Kagami trying to not die of his own methods, it turned to the former Touou captain to pour the fifth round. He had taken note of Himuro's technique and which poison was most effective against the group. He wasn't doing this for his benefit no, he was doing it because Aomine wasn't going to figure it out any other way.

Aomine was confused when Kise demanded they play spin the bottle. Akashi didn't protest, he actually encouraged it as long as no-one took Furihata from him. Everyone else just went along with it because they were too drunk to care. Imayoshi made up another round so that they had an empty bottle - that was the _only_ reason to have another round of course.

"So the oldest sh-should go first." Kise smiled at the demon captain from Touou.

"Nah, I'll collect the glasses up, let Yukio go first."

Kasamatsu shrugged, the final strands of his usual no-nonsense attitude falling away as he spun the vodka bottle on the polished table. It landed on Himuro, something that caused Kagami to laugh loudly and Murisakibara to glare slightly at the former Kaijou captain.

"You all agreed to play knowing the consequences." Akashi reminded them, a certain edge to his voice. "No backing out now."

Kasamatsu beckoned Himuro over, not exactly ecstatic but too drunk to really process his embarrassment. The kiss was sloppy and short, mainly because Kise started whining and also it wasn't something either party wanted to be part of.

The game continued, Imayoshi pouring more shots and everyone getting a little bit more 'friendly' with each other. It didn't escape anyone's mind who was actually dating who so there was little to get worked up about. Except when Aomine spun the bottle and it landed on Kagami.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Aomine slurred, regarding Kagami with the disgusted look he had perfected so well.

"Like you can talk." Kagami barked back.

"You gonna get over here so we can get this over with or not?"

It was amusing for everyone that Aomine was so forward when drunk, it was just as Imayoshi had planned although even he couldn't predict who was going to be the unfortunate soul to force the ace to come to his senses. He actually chuckled when Kagami stumbled over to where the bluenette was sat, it couldn't have played out any better.

Kagami ran a rough hand through the short blue strands, angling Aomine's face upwards before pouncing with a sloppy clash of intoxicated lips. A small growl emitted from Aomine's throat as he realised he wasn't dominating like he usually would but before he could act Kagami had pulled away and was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Sorry to stop but I think Tetsu might object." Kagami remarked, moving back to sit next to his boyfriend.

At first Kuroko did nothing but whilst everyone else was either making remarks about Aomine still being ignorant or enjoying the buzz of alcohol, he pulled the red-head's lips to his, a slower and sweeter exchange between shadow and light took place and hardly anyone saw.

One person saw though.

Aomine felt a strange sensation in his chest, it wasn't the urge to vomit, it wasn't sadness, it was more puzzlement. Being kissed by Kagami hadn't been the worst experience of his life like his sober mind may have thought. When he saw how Kuroko kissed the ace though, that was something else. Aomine felt a longing, he wasn't sure how to explain it but he knew that he wanted to be kissed like that.

Imayoshi put two and two together within a few seconds of seeing Aomine's expression, he smiled to himself as he collected up the glasses. This was going to be a fun week.

 


	2. "At least I don't throw shurikens at people."

Kise groaned as he rolled over, bedsheets pulling tight as he buried his face in the feather pillows. His head was spinning and his throat felt like sandpaper, he couldn't really remember everything that had happened. It was all a blur really, they had been sat around the fire when Himuro and Kagami had started mixing drinks, he remembered very little after that in the way of images, there was something about a game of spin the bottle that he may have started but not much else. There were a few things he couldn't erase from his mind though; the feeling of hesitant lips against his neck, trailing hands dancing over his waist, fingers running through his hair...

"Ryouta." A quiet voice called.

"Nng." Was all the blond could reply, burying his face further into the pillow.

" _Ryouta_."

There was a sudden weight behind him on the bed accompanied by a feather-like caress on his bare back. A silence fell as the fingers ghosted over his shoulder and moved to his chest, he leaned back against the other person, sighing in content.

Kasamatsu didn't have a hangover, he had managed to narrowly avoid getting one and was so thankful for it as he tried to convince Kise to get out of bed. He pressed a kiss to the back of Kise's neck, feeling how warm his lover was despite being half naked.

"Ryouta, you should get up." Kasamatsu hummed, catching the blond's earlobe between his teeth as his fingers ran over heated skin.

Kise shivered at the tender touches, his head still throbbing from whatever he had drunk the night before. He rolled over so he was face-to-face with the older boy, savouring the way Kasamatsu wrapped an arm around him and bumped foreheads with him. The older boy always seemed so brash in public but it was moments like these, when they were alone, that his more caring side shone through. The side that Kise loved.

"You're hungover aren't you?"

"Nng..."

Kasamatsu smiled, he wasn't annoyed at all. He remembered last night, how Kise was drunk within three shots and then started kissing him, it was a miracle that he was able to drag the blond into their room before things got too heated. How Aomine hadn't figured it out was a mystery but it was bound to become a running gag for the rest of the week.

Kise buried his face in the crook of Kasamatsu's neck, hands clenching on the thin shirt the other was wearing. He didn't want to move at all but his throat was so _dry_.

"Yukio..." He whimpered. "Water..."

"You're so demanding." Kasamatsu sighed, reaching behind him to the bedside table where he already had a glass of water waiting. "Sit up then dummy."

Kise made a small noise of discomfort before easing himself to sit up and accept the glass, he finished it within seconds, wincing a little at the ache in his head but offered a small smile in return. The peaceful silence was shattered by raised voices down the hallway, the older boy glared at the door as two booming voices yelled at each other, something about a shower and a hangover mixed in with childish insults.

"I'll go and sort the brats out. You stay here and don't vomit over the sheets or we'll get murdered."

Kise smiled and pulled Kasamatsu in for a kiss that stank of alcohol. With a new found irritation about him the former captain strode to the door and threw it open, eyes roving over the lounge that was in dire need of cleaning; glasses were piled up on the coffee table, one of the couches had been shifted a good three feet away from its original position and there was a suspicious mark on the rug that he hoped was spilt alcohol.

The voices down the hall on his right were still bickering. Sure enough, the two rival aces were squabbling over something, both still in their underwear and the bathroom door firmly closed.

"Ahomine, I said _move_." Kagami stated, shoving the tanned teen.

"Bakagami I told you I had _dibs_." The other replied, shoving back harder.

Kasamatsu sighed. Where was Imayoshi and why were these two arguing were the two questions swimming around his mind as he strode down the hallway, neither of them paid him any attention until he hit them both between the shoulder blades, causing them to splutter and break eye contact.

"Shut it brats!" He spat. "Kise has a hangover and you two are making enough noise for them to hear you in Tokyo."

The sound of approaching footsteps made him look over his shoulder, Naoki stood there looking rather puzzled at the commotion. Kasamatsu hoped that he'd restore some order but his hopes were soon dashed.

"I should probably inform you that the young master has a foul temper in the mornings, he won't appreciate it if you wake him up by being loud like this."

"Hear that bakagami? Shut up and let me shower." Aomine grinned, catching the red-head off guard as he shoved him out the way. His hand closed around the door handle but it wouldn't budge.

Kasamatsu had put up with enough, he turned on his heel and left the two aces to bicker some more, seeking Kise's warm company instead. He didn't need Akashi skinning him alive thank-you very much. Aomine rattled the door and started hammering on the polished wood, realisation hitting him as the sound of running water came filtering out.

"Senpai you asshole!"

"Aomine-kun please keep it down." Kuroko's voice came from seemingly nowhere. Kagami hooted with laughter as his rival jumped in surprise, so much for being used to Kuroko's disappearing act.

"Tetsu!"

Naoki shook his head, he tried to warn them. He turned his attention to the chaos that was the basement's lounge. He somewhat regretted letting Akashi have access to the bar but at the same time he was happy that the heir was finally letting himself have fun. A disgruntled voice from upstairs spurred him to hurry up with the cleaning, he took another glance down the hallway where the three rowdy teens had become four, Imayoshi had opened the bathroom door to find Kagami and Aomine in a small brawl on the floor. He seemed less than motivated to deal with them though.

Naoki sighed, he had a feeling he was going to have his first grey hair by the end of this week.

 

\---

 

"Muro-chin..." The giant from Yousen whined, wincing at the daylight that came through the window.

"What?" Himuro replied, already dressed whilst his team-mate remained in bed.

"I heard strange noises last night..."

The shooting guard smiled, knowing exactly who was responsible for them. "None that you and I haven't heard before."

Murasakibara groaned, not feeling awake enough to think about moving his large body from the warm bed. "You sound better though...can you make me food?"

Himuro knew that was going to be the main priority, ignoring the statement in the sentence. "Sure, just get dressed before you leave the room yeah?"

He brushed a section of lavender hair away from his lover's cheek, pressing gentle lips to the heated skin before quietly leaving. The door across the narrow hallway was slightly ajar and he considered investigating. A clatter from the kitchen drew his attention away from the door, he found the small point guard from Shuutoku peering into a cupboard but no sign of the ace.

"Have fun last night?" Himuro remarked, leaning on the island counter that had been polished already that morning.

Takao spun around, blush evident on his face before he realised who it was. "What's it to you?" He asked with a smirk.

"We could hear you, or rather him." Himuro let a gentle smile rest on his face. "I'm surprised Akashi didn't."

Takao shrugged. "We were drunk. Hey do you wanna help make some breakfast? I dunno where that butler dude is but I'm hungry."

It just so happened that the 'butler dude' arrived back upstairs, tray of dirty glasses in hand, just as the two of them smashed an egg on the floor. Naoki wasn't impressed but he kept calm as he enlisted their help to cook some rice omelettes, at least it would get them out of the kitchen long enough for him to actually prepare the rest of the meal.

The smell of food not only drew Murasakibara out of bed but also halted the argument downstairs, Kagami and Aomine temporarily forgot about their bickering and followed their noses upstairs to the dining room, neither of them any more dressed than when Naoki last saw them. It took a few minutes but soon most of the group were sat around the ornate wooden table, Kise wincing at any loud noise that Aomine made which only made the bluenette yell louder when he didn't respond. Kasamatsu would kick the other boy's shins in revenge to which Imayoshi would remarked about childish antics and gain a glare in response.

"Wait. Where's Akashi? Is he too good to eat with us now?" Aomine murmured, mouth full of food.

Naoki wasn't fast enough, the tanned teen was already ascending the stairs to the next level. Everyone else watched as he walked along the landing and disappeared into the master bedroom. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, he wasn't too amused that Akashi was still asleep.

"Oi Bakashi." He called, folding his arms across his chest.

"Aomine?" Furihata's timid voice drew his attention to the en-suite doorway. The brunette's eyes widened as he realised what was about to happen. "You need to leave, Sei will--"

The sound of something cutting through air spooked Aomine, he ducked in time for the ninja star to embed itself in the door-frame. An orange eye glistened in the dimly lit bedroom from where it originated.

"What the fuck Akashi! You can't throw shurikens at people!"

"Daiki, it would be wise of you to listen to Kouki in future." A voice barked, not quite aggressive but certainly bordering on predatory.

He took very few seconds to opt to leave his former captain alone for a while, awkwardly confessing to the rest of the group that he had nearly died, to which Kagami swore he'd never let him live it down until Kuroko pointed out that he had also nearly died by Akashi's hand once. Naoki reminded Aomine that he had in fact told the ace about Akashi not being a morning person.

It was nearer lunchtime when Akashi finally graced them with his presence, orange eye shining brightly as he entered the lounge hand-in-hand with Furihata. The miracles all knew immediately - even without Aomine's stupidity from earlier - that he wasn't in the mood for immature behaviour.

Naoki appeared, bowing apologetically to the heir. "I'm so sorry young master. I wasn't fast enough to stop you being disturbed this morning."

"It is fine Naoki." Akashi replied. "I should have locked the door anyway. Have the leaves been cleared from the pathway yet?"

The butler shook his head, expected another scolding but instead found Akashi to be smirking.

"Aka-chin smirking isn't good." Murasakibara murmured.

"Don't tell me we're going to be raking leaves..." Kagami uttered to Kuroko.

"That's exactly what you're going to be doing Taiga. You can all thank Daiki for it."

"Fuck sake Ahomine!"

Kasamatsu kicked the Touou player in the side, Imayoshi just sighed and refused to be dragged into another childish argument.

Just as things were getting heated it was pointed out that surely the entire group wouldn't be needed to clear _one_ path. It was decided - by Akashi - that Aomine, Kagami, Kasamatsu, Kise and Takao would rake the leaves whilst everyone else helped Naoki clean up the breakfast dishes. Of course there were muttered protests but the flash of orange quietened them down quickly.

 

\---

 

Kagami was so done. It wasn't his fault that Ahomine had nearly gotten himself killed, _surely_ he would've known better than anyone else to not disturb the heir?  Then again this was Aomine we were talking about.

He raked the brightly coloured leaves a few paces away from the Touou idiot, listening half-heartedly to Takao babbling away to Kasamatsu who seemed less than impressed about the entire situation. Kise was still hungover but the fresh air of the forest was quickly rectifying it so it was only a matter of time before something stupid happened.

"Kagamicchi." Kise murmured, suddenly next to the red-head.

"What?"

"We should get back at Aominecchi for getting us into this mess." The honey eyes had a certain mischief pooling in them as he waited for a response.

That piqued Kagami's interest. "And what does your boyfriend say?"

The tint of pink that graced Kise's cheeks was something Kagami smirked at. "Do I need his permission or something?"

The rake fell to the gravel with a thud, Kagami picked up a handful of brown and red leaves and motioned for Kise to follow him. They crept up behind Aomine, Takao was still chirping away like a bird but he was watching this all unfold, attracting Kasamatsu's attention in time for it to all come to a head.

Kagami grabbed Aomine's jacket and tugged it before shoving the leaves down the teen's back. Aomine twisted around and tried to grab his rival, only succeeding in tripping over his own feet and tumbling into Kagami.

They fell into one of the piles, Kagami groaning at the sudden weight on top of him. Kise was doubled over in laughter as Aomine stirred and immediately started yelling.

"Bakagami!" He pinned Kagami's wrists to the floor as he gained the upper hand. "What the fuck are--why would you put _leaves_ down my back?!"

"Because you're the reason we're out here dumb-ass!"

Kasamatsu sighed, he wasn't going to relax much on this so-called vacation. He threw his rake down and strode over to the two of them for the second time that day, Takao at his heels fighting the laughter building up inside him.

"Will you two stop being brats and just get on with this--"

Kise pulled the former captain into his arms before purposefully falling back onto a separate pile of leaves. The older boy huffed against the blond's chest as an orange leaf brushed his nose, not at all amused but not finding it in his heart to be that annoyed. Takao carded a hand through his hair as he smiled at the scene before him, somewhat wishing Midorima was out here to laugh at the antics of their friends.

The two aces were still on the floor, Kagami grinning at Aomine despite being pinned down. Aomine was unsure what to do, part of him wanted to punch the idiot underneath him but he couldn't bring himself to, the memories of last night all too clear in his mind.

"Cat got your tongue?" Kagami taunted, enjoying how confused his rival seemed.

"Sh-shut up Bakagami."

Through the large windows of the basement lounge Imayoshi watched the entire scene unfold, he wasn't matchmaking the two idiots together but it was interesting how they naturally gravitated towards one another. He chuckled before going to find out what the rest of the group were doing.

Midorima had refused to come out of the bedroom him and Takao were sharing, Naoki had delivered food to him but neglected to share what the issue was. Akashi had calmed down, mainly due to the two aces being banished outside and the teens left inside the lodge were a lot quieter.

For the most part anyway.

"Aka-chin?" Murasakibara murmured, sinking into the couch. The fire crackled and gave off a faint glow that danced in the red eyes of the Rakuzan captain.

"Hmm?" He replied, hand lazily ruffling Furihata's hair. "What's wrong Murasakibara?"

"I'm hungry but your butler won't let me back in the kitchen. Muro-chin won't sneak me any more food either." The giant pouted, hoping to gain sympathy from someone. Imayoshi smirked, waiting for Akashi to reply.

"Well I was going to have Naoki bake us pumpkin pie when you all stopped giving him work to do."

Murasakibara made a noise of content, not actually saying anything though. Furihata smiled at the idea before thinking up something better.

"Sei."

"Yes?"

"Can we all bake pie?"

Akashi gave him a puzzled look. "All of us? All Twelve of us?"

"Yeah! I think it would be fun...just baking together you know? I mean, my brother and I help our mother sometimes and it's honestly so much fun..." His voice trailed off as he blushed, not sure what his lover would think of the childish idea.

Imayoshi wanted to laugh, he really did. The idea of them all trying to not give each other food poisoning was an amusing one, he daren't laugh though, Akashi would definitely frown upon it and probably cast him out into the wilderness, that just wouldn't do.

"Then we shall bake pie. Go and get the others inside and I'll go and tell Naoki."

"Geez what could possibly go wrong..." Imayoshi sighed as Furihata slipped outside to fetch the aces who were still yelling hollow insults at each other. Kagami had managed to shake Aomine off of him, now they were throwing leaves at each other and making more of a mess than before they started.

"Nothing will go wrong." Akashi stated, fixing his gaze on Imayoshi. Murasakibara wasn't really listening to the conversation now that food wasn't the main topic, he was however carefully watching his former captain's body language so he'd know if he'd need to duck.

"You say that, do you really think that those two idiots won't find some way to screw everything up?"

Akashi smiled, he enjoyed having someone like Imayoshi around, it gave him someone new to analyse and toy with. Furihata didn't really approve of that mindset but when the opportunity was presenting itself in such an appealing manner, there was no way Akashi could let it pass by.

"Well why don't you make sure they don't?"

Imayoshi laughed. "You're certainly something else..."

"Or are you admitting you have no control over them?"

The silence hung in the air for a few moments before Imayoshi chuckled and shook his head. "At least I don't throw shurikens at people."

Murasakibara took that as his cue to leave, slowly climbing the stairs to see where Himuro had gotten to. Kuroko was just leaving Midorima's room as the ace reached the top of the stairs, the two of them held each other's gaze for a few seconds before the silence was broken.

"Is Mido-chin going to come out?"

"He has a lovebite on his neck so I doubt it."

Anyone else would've doubled over in laughter, Murasakibara just sighed and continued on his journey to the kitchen, clearly not bothered by his friend's problem. He thought it served the shooter right, he shouldn't have made such so much noise last night if he didn't want people knowing he was getting fucked.

"As always, you're focused on food." Kuroko remarked, shadowing the giant as he made his way to where Himuro was helping Naoki put the clean plates away.

"Kuro-chin should be quiet."

Himuro looked up at the sound of footsteps, every time he saw the two of them together he couldn't help but chuckle at the drastic height difference. Naoki sighed as he saw the two teens looking at him expectantly.

"No. I'm not making you any more food." He told Murasakibara. "Not unless the young master demands it. I'm already going to have to go shopping again."

"Then we'll need flour and pumpkins." A commanding voice came from behind Kuroko. Akashi stepped in front of the three of them to address his employee. "Kouki wants to bake pie."

If the man had any objections he didn't voice them, he nodded and bowed before withdrawing a notepad from the pocket of his waistcoat. "Then if you'll excuse me, I'll need to make a list and fetch the ingredients."

"Take Kagami with you. He'll be the most useful to you." Akashi stated. "Plus maybe we'll have a few moments of peace around here--"

Raised voices from downstairs cut Akashi off, the sound of something heavy dragging followed by another yell could only spell trouble, especially when Akashi's eye flickered orange for the third time that day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly getting the hang of this 3rd person thing.  
> I'm trying to write it as if if was being filmed by a floating camera (being a film student has its perks) so I'd appreciate any feedback on whether it's working or not.  
> I'm just going with whatever feels right really.  
> Also I might start double-spacing because there's just so many paragraphs with all the dialogue that even I get sore eyes from looking at it (but I'll save that experiment for the next chapter).


	3. Walking on eggshells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to regret deciding to name each chapter - I can feel it.  
> Anyway, thank-you so much for all the kudos, it makes me happy that you're enjoying this fic so far and I'll try to keep updates as frequent as possible! :)

    
Apparently Kasamatsu had finally had enough of Aomine's shit, when the two bickering aces moved to follow Furihata inside they got into _another_ argument, the shorter male snapped. He got a running start before jumping and kicking the blue-haired ace literally through the open door and straight into the couch which moved a considerable distance across the floor.

When this was explained to the dark force that was Akashi, he laughed. The red-head laughed. Kise and Aomine glanced at each other uneasily as the blond helped his friend of the floor. Furihata smiled, catching the shift between the two sides of his boyfriend as the orange darkened to crimson.

"Aomine...I know you feel outnumbered but do try to keep yourself under control." Akashi remarked.

"What?" Aomine scowled, partly relieved that Akashi didn't seem to be out for his blood. "Outnumbered?"

Kasamatsu sighed and left without another word, he was so done with this stupidity. Imayoshi smirked as his old rival stormed past him en route to the stairs with Kise quickly following. Kagami had already been whisked away by Naoki to get the stuff for baking pie, the ace had been understandably confused but went along with it anyway, dragging Kuroko with him.

"Seriously, what is he talking about ?" Aomine turned to Takao who was unfortunate enough to not be able to leave undetected.

"I mean--" The point guard struggled to come up with something plausible. "I'm gonna go and check on Shin-chan."

He quickly escaped the basement lounge, sighing in relief as he reached the top of the stairs and turned left, heading down the hallway to the bedroom where Midorima was residing. He was met with an icy glare as he closed the door behind him.

"What's with all the noise?" The ace asked, flicking the page on his book whilst turning an ink pen in between his taped up fingers - the lucky item for the day.

"Aomine doesn't realise we're all gay." Takao shrugged with a smile. "It's apparently amusing Akashi to no end."

"Of course it would be."

"How are you feeling?"

"Cancer's are ranked second lowest today--"

"Yeah yeah, I meant your body." The other smirked, climbing onto the bed and crawling up between the Midorima's legs. "It hasn't escaped everyone's attention that you've not left this room."

Midorima rolled his eyes, setting his book down and regarded Takao with an unamused expression, behind the glasses his eyes pooled with something more than irritation. The point guard closed the gap between them, kissing him with the same intensity that had led to much more sinful things last night, hands cupping his face and lips parting with ease.

"Are you done?" Midorima sighed once he could speak again, albeit a little breathless.

"Are you embarrassed Shin-chan?"

"N-No. I'd just prefer that our friends didn't see--"

"That I claimed you?"

The blush that crept over his face was undeniable. Takao smirked and tilted his head, kissing the mark he made the night before under the haze of lust aided by alcohol. Midorima couldn't help but moan until he snapped back to his senses, pushing the smaller boy back with a heavy sigh.

"D-Don't you have somewhere else to be?" He asked, trying to hide how easily he had been reduced to a flustered mess.

"Not until Kagami gets back. We're all baking pie or something apparently." Takao whispered, trailing a hand up Midorima's chest. "I'd say we have an hour."

"No."

"Aw come on Shin-chan."

"I'm still sore."

He accepted that he wasn't going to get lucky, instead Takao settled beside his lover. Midorima rolled his eyes but wrapped an arm around him, still twirling the pen between his fingers as he pressed a kiss to the younger boy's forehead.

"Maybe later."

 

\---

 

Kagami didn't remember the last time he made pumpkin pie, Himuro was just as in the dark and Murasakibara just wanted to eat the marshmallows they purchased for another time. Naoki bustled about putting away the stuff they didn't need as the ace tried to decipher the badly translated recipe.

"Do you remember making it in the states for thanksgiving at all?" Kagami asked Himuro.

"No? We didn't really celebrate it."

"Hm."

"It can't be _that_ hard." Aomine declared, snatching the paper from Kagami's hand. He studied the kanji for a while before pointing at something. "What's this shit?"

"English." Himuro replied.

"You know, that language you should be learning?" Kagami added, taking the paper back. "Go do something useful and round up the others. We should be ready to start soon."

Aomine scowled before setting off in search of the others, he didn't appreciate being ordered around but he didn't exactly have a choice. He found Kuroko and Furihata first, Akashi wasn't that far away of course so that was three out of nine found. Going downstairs to the basement lounge he found Imayoshi staring at a chess board, Kise was singing in the shower and Kasamatsu was asleep - the Touou ace decided against waking him up and simply hammered on the bathroom door until Kise opened it.

"Aominecchi?"

"Tell your senpai to get up."

"Why can't you do it?" He asked, the towel around his waist slipping slightly. Aomine ignored it.

"He'll probably kill me."

Kise laughed, Aomine wasn't amused. Eventually the blond agreed he'd get his senpai up soon so Aomine shrugged and went back upstairs, still two people unaccounted for. When he knocked on the door there was no response, he thought about it and remembered that no-one had actually seen Midorima that day.

"Yo." He called, turning the handle to find it was unlocked. He didn't think much of it as he opened the door in mild curiosity.

"You probably shouldn't go in there Aomine-kun."

The ace nearly had a heart attack, he whirled around to find Kuroko leaning against the opposite door. His hand was still on the door handle and the door now ajar, _curiosity killed the cat_ he thought, peering through the small opening.

The two from Shuutoku were asleep, Takao wrapped up in Midorima's arms. Kuroko was now at Aomine's side, waiting for his former light to say what he was thinking.

"Weird." was all the tanned teen could say. He didn't really have an opinion on it, he found it strange that Midorima could be so relaxed but more importantly there was that strange feeling from before in his chest. That weird longing feeling.

"Are you going to get them up or not?" Kuroko asked.

After a few seconds of thought Aomine decided against it. He closed the door and walked back down the hallway towards the kitchen, leaving Kuroko to smile to himself at this latest development.

Kagami and Himuro had managed to figure out what they had to do. Akashi nodded in approval as they explained it all to him, as if they needed his permission before destroying his kitchen, the only thing that was left was to get everyone together.

 

\---

 

Kasamatsu didn't know how he ended up in charge of this fiasco but he was going to make someone pay for it. Himuro was doing his best to read out the instructions, Takao was in charge of mixing it all together, Kise was busy trying to convince Imayoshi that he could in fact juggle eggs without smashing them, Kagami and Kuroko were making the crust on one of the counters _away_ from the chaos that was the island unit.

Aomine stuck his hand in the flour and flicked the white powder in Kise's direction, startling the blond and causing three eggs to smash on the floor. Akashi didn't bat an eye, he was too absorbed in watching Furihata help Takao, meanwhile Midorima struggled to stop Murasakibara from eating anything and everything he set his eyes on.

"But Mido-chin I'm hungry." The giant complained.

"You'll have pie soon enough." Midorima sighed. "Just--" He reached for a bag of chips. "Here, eat these."

"Mido-chin's the best of the old team."

Naoki had long since given up trying to retain order. He told Kasamatsu that he was heading back to the market to get some more things, the boy just nodded and then proceeded to sigh loudly at the smashed eggs.

Aomine got bored of trying to annoy Kise, he threw a handful of flour at Imayoshi who conveniently ducked and so flour just went _everywhere_. With a lack of things to do now that Furihata had taken control of the mixing bowl, Takao took an egg and launched it the Touou ace, missing and hitting Kise in the face instead.

Kasamatsu was caught between laughing and raging. He chose to laugh, something about Kise's surprised expression just set something off inside of him. Aomine completely lost it until he too got an egg to the face from the point guard.

"Oh you've done it now--"

"Shut up." Imayoshi shoved a spoonful of cinnamon into Aomine's mouth, grinning as the teen started gasping and spluttering. Akashi did take notice of someone nearly dying on his floor but did nothing to assist, in his mind it was the idiot's fault for initiating this in the first place.

Himuro abandoned trying to follow the recipe and tried to prevent Aomine from choking to death by giving him a glass of water. Kagami turned around in time to see the aftermath of the chaos; flour covering the units and smashed egg coating the floor and he was pretty sure someone had managed to hit a wall cabinet too. Without a word he gave the prepared crust to Kuroko and picked up one of the last intact eggs.

He made his way over to Aomine and Himuro, also grabbing the last packet of flour on the way. A silent nod to Himuro ensured that he was left with a very vulnerable ace bent over the sink. He could feel everyone watching him as he raised the egg into the air.

With a swift movement he smashed the egg on the back of Aomine's neck before pouring the rest of the bag of flour on top. Aomine spluttered and whirled around, coming eye-to-eye with Kagami as the sticky mess of flour and egg yolk trickled down his back, staining his shirt as it did.

"Bakagami!"

Kagami couldn't stop laughing long enough to reply, he simply backed away so he was out of reach. Aomine's eyes darkened, he stripped off his shirt and tossed it on the floor that was also a mess of flour and egg, before fixing his gaze on his rival. Kagami took it as his cue to start running.

As they hurtled down the stairs it occurred to Aomine that he wasn't actually _mad_. There was a smile on his face as his feet hit the bottom of the stairs. Kagami was stood on the other side of the three couches, grinning as he tried to read what Aomine was thinking.

"What is your obsession with shoving things down my back dude?!" Aomine asked, muscles flexing as he threw his arms in the air in protest.

"I couldn't let the opportunity pass by." The red-head replied, raising an eyebrow at the sight before him.

Aomine shook his head, getting a running start as he vaulted over one couch and around the second, Kagami moved just out of reach but the Touou ace wasn't going to be beaten that easily. He put more power into his stride and tackled his rival to the floor. Pinning him down for the second time that day.

"What is your obsession with topping?" Kagami asked.

"Topping? What?" Aomine exhaled, giving the other a puzzled look. "You think I would be a bottom? Hah!"

"Oh so you _have_ thought about it."

"What?! No!"

Kagami laughed. "You really don't see it do you?"

"See what?! What is everyone fucking talking about?" Aomine was getting more and more irritated with the group's offhand comments and raised eyebrows. He was also getting annoyed by this feeling inside his chest, it made him feel uneasy and out of touch with reality.

Kagami's grin softened, easing his wrists out from the other boy's grasp and linking their fingers together. Aomine's eyes widened, he hadn't expected Kagami's hands to feel so soft.

"Use your brain baka." Kagami told him, loosening his grip so that Aomine was the one in control. "Twelve guys in a lodge all sharing rooms. I mean sure you guys from Teikou could've been up here but why did each of you bring a friend?"

Aomine didn't like Kagami putting ideas in his head. "So that Akashi didn't kill us?"

"Why is Furihata here? He's not staying with Kuroko and I so where is he staying?"

"With..."

Kagami nodded. "So...why do you think that is?"

Aomine shook his head, Kagami was toying with his mind worse than Imayoshi. He got off the ace and paced over to the fireplace, staring at the burnt wood and charcoal from last night. His mind was ticking, considering everything that had happened.

"Wait--" He uttered, turning around to find Kagami about to sprint upstairs. "...Tetsu kissed you."

Kagami smiled. "Yes he did. I also kissed you. Kasamatsu kissed Himuro and--"

"No! Not that stupid game...Tetsu kissed you after you kissed me."

The red-head shrugged. "So what?" He had to admit that he was enjoying this, maybe him and Akashi had something in common after all.

Aomine shook his head, all the actions pointed towards one thing but it just didn't _fit_ in his mind. That combined with the weird sensation in his chest just made him even more uneasy. His usual over-confident self was slipping, he was starting to question everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours and even some before that.

"Did none of this happen in middle school?"

The question burrowed in Aomine's mind. There had been one or two times where Kise had gotten over excited but for the most part, no he was certain that, none of their actions ever showed a hint of the possibility that they were--

"No." He answered before he could finish his train of thought. "Never."

Kagami chuckled, he could see he had gotten under Aomine's skin and decided to halt the torture there. "Come on, we have pie to bake."

"Don't--" The other ace stopped, eyes locked with the red-head. "Don't mention this to the others Taiga...I-I don't--" He cursed himself for stuttering and seeming so out of his depth.

"It's okay. I won't mention it Daiki." Kagami replied with a gentle smile.

 

\---

 

"How the hell did you guys get egg on the _ceiling_?!" Naoki exclaimed, he wasn't shouting, no he wouldn't lose control of his emotions like that but even so.

"Blame him." Kise pointed at Takao. "I need to take another shower."

"Aomine was the one who started it." Takao defended himself as a wash-cloth was thrown in his direction by Himuro.

"You didn't have to encourage it!" Midorima sighed, taking off and polishing his glasses that had specks of flour on them.

"But come on, what did you do?" Naoki's professional demeanour was slipping as he spent longer with the teens. "Don't tell me that you guys had a petty fight with the food?"

Regardless of who started it, Naoki politely asked if they could help clean up, Kise wormed his way out of it by stating he needed to get the egg out of his hair and Murasakibara had led down on one of the lounge couches just out of earshot of the kitchen, it would be impossible to move him now.

Kuroko raised an eyebrow as Kagami handed Aomine his soiled shirt with a wink, the tanned teen looked mildly uncomfortable but took it anyway before making a break for his room to no doubt change. The interaction hadn't escaped Imayoshi's attention either, he was already speculating what happened in the basement.

"So what did he say?" Kuroko murmured to Kagami as they both knelt on the floor and brushed up the flour.

"I'm not saying." Kagami replied. "Not here."

Akashi and Midorima had brought the chess set upstairs and were now playing with Imayoshi taking an interest in the two miracle's battle of wits. Himuro and Kasamatsu had been lumbered with the majority of the clean-up whilst Takao and Furihata kept an eye on the oven.

It wasn't long before the smell of pumpkin wafted through the lodge, Kagami took charge as it came out of the oven, quickly seizing the can of whipped cream and adding a large serving of it to the centre of the pie.

"So who wants to die-- I mean get the first taste?" Kagami asked, locating a knife as everyone crowded around to look at their creation.

"Don't we have to let it set?" Furihata queried.

"Pah. Like we're going to be patient enough."

"I want pie." Murasakibara pined, resting his head on top of Himuro's as he wrapped long arms around his lover's waist. "Kaga-chin I want pie."

After a nod from Akashi, Kagami carefully cut a slice and offered it to the purple-haired ace. He picked it up and bit off half of it at once, slowly munching before blinking.

"Good pie." He mumbled, putting the other half in his mouth. "More."

"Let the rest of us have some at least!" Takao complained, batting the large hand away.

So it was settled, Kagami sliced the rest of the pie up and everyone indulged in the product of their organised chaos. They then retreated back downstairs and were now watching Imayoshi and Midorima play chess. Surprisingly enough, despite the mess afterwards, Akashi declared he wanted to bake again. Furihata beamed, glad that his boyfriend had enjoyed such a simple activity.

"I mean, if we have more pumpkin then I can make other things like cheesecake, brownies, pancakes..." Kagami's voice trailed off as Akashi nodded.

"I approve. I'll have Naoki sort it."

"Oh!" Kise bolted up from where he had been resting his head in Kasamatsu's lap. "I want to carve jack o lanterns."

There was a silence before Takao seconded Kise's suggestion. The idea of letting them all loose with knives was one that didn't sit right Naoki but he nodded when Akashi asked him about it. The TV was switched on and for the most part the evening was uneventful, the heir confidently beat both Midorima and Imayoshi at chess and everyone seemed content to waste time watching whatever they could find on the local channels.

"Should we get drunk again?" Kise asked as the credits of a drama show rolled, the night was drawing on but the ace was bored.

"Not unless you can wake up without a hangover." Kasamatsu replied, fingers tangled in the blond locks. "I'm not dealing with that shit again."

"Besides, we'd be trusting those two again." Midorima added, gesturing to Kagami and Himuro. "And I don't--"

"You had fun last night Shin-chan don't deny it." Takao interrupted, smirking at the slight blush on the green-haired ace. "We should _totally_ play truth or dare."

There were a few sighs, Imayoshi laughed at how immature this was turning but at the same time he was already thinking how he could exploit this game for his own amusement. Akashi shrugged, signalling that he neither approved or disapproved of the suggestion.

"I got a better idea." Himuro smirked. "It's a drinking game, well only if you guys want it to be."

"Go on..." Kagami made a motion with his hand. "We're all dying to know."

"It's a simple game, played it once after practice although this guy--" He gestured to Murasakibara. "--didn't feel like joining us. Anyway, I flip a coin and someone guesses heads or tails. They get it right they don't do anything, they get it wrong then they either drink or strip one item of clothing."

"...so we either get wasted or naked?" Takao asked, the grin on his face growing. "I'm game."

Convincing the others wasn't too hard, the only one who was opposed whole-heartedly was Midorima, even Kasamatsu seemed relatively interested which surprised Kise. The Shuutoku ace cursed the stars for his sign being second lowest that night as the first round of drinks were mixed and poured.


	4. Bloody Mary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter was such a pain in the ass to write and I apologise if it shows - I tried my best!

In a game of 50/50 odds there were only so many rounds one person could go before guessing wrong, most people accepted this fact without complaint. Aomine was not one of these people.

"I call bullshit." The ace stated, gaze fixed on Akashi who had been flipping the coin that round. "There's no way that was heads."

The heir had surprised everyone by not getting annoyed at losing a few rounds, the days of 'I am absolute' and 'victory is everything' seemed to have passed by, leaving him shirtless and more than a little bit tipsy.

He had a habit of using first names when tipsy which was somewhat concerning.

"Daiki you're the one who called it." He replied, holding out his hand where the flower signified 'head's as Himuro had put it. "So drink or strip."

Aomine scowled, a little under the influence too as he conceded and finally removed his shirt, so far he had managed to outlast most of the others on the stripping part but he knew that wouldn't last long. Akashi's attention turned to Kagami, he had stripped down to his underwear but was refusing to go further - only knocking back shots instead.

"Taiga."

"Tails." He dead-panned, already picking up the glass with whatever poison Himuro had mixed.

The coin showed heads again. Kagami's throat burned but he refused to remove any more clothing. Himuro had long since given up trying to keep up with the drinks so they convinced Naoki to continue where the shooting guard left off, against his better judgement the butler agreed.

He didn't feel out of place though, whilst he was supposed to stay professional he found himself mixing a small cocktail just to loosen him up a little. A few rounds had passed since then and he was actually finding the entire ordeal rather amusing.

Kise was mortified when he guessed wrong. He, like Aomine, had managed to stay fully clothed so far and had been stubbornly drinking instead but now there were calls for him to level the playing field. However the blond knew what marks lurked beneath his shirt, he also knew that Kasamatsu wouldn't be able to stop himself kissing them in his current state.

"Come on Ryouta." Akashi remarked, handing the coin to a frazzled Furihata for the next round. "Or do I have to strip it off you myself?"

The blush that crawled over Kise's cheeks rivalled the captain's hair in colour. Kasamatsu didn't even need a prompt before his fingers were trailing up his lover's chest as he 'helped' him out of the shirt.

"C-Can we just play truth or dare instead?" The blond protested as he felt several sets of eyes roaming his marked body. Normally he wouldn't care but knowing that the others didn't have to think hard about who marked him was a little unsettling. Especially as he felt lips ghost over the back of his neck.

"Only if everyone else agrees." Akashi declared, glancing around the circle.

"Well I think we're all drunk enough." Aomine remarked, gesturing to Himuro who looked _very_ spaced out.

It took a bit more arguing before the game was changed to include dares instead of stripping, Midorima sighed in slight relief, he still didn't have faith in his guessing ability but at least the dares would be less humiliating.

"You're wrong Shintarou."

"Well--"

"Do a dare Shin-chan!"

"Takao shut up--"

"You're scared aren't you?" Kagami cut in, raising an eyebrow.

Midorima shook his head, wishing the ground would swallow him up there and then. "Fine. Give me a dare."

Aomine grinned before elbowing Imayoshi. "Oi, think up a dare."

The demon captain grinned even wider than Aomine. "With pleasure." A few seconds passed until he responded. "Let Himuro kiss you."

Midorima just stared at the older boy, he glanced at Akashi, who showed no intention of intervening, before catching Himuro's eye. He _really_ cursed the stars in that moment as Himuro leaned forward and peered at him through lidded eyes and a tousled fringe.

Aomine wasn't even paying attention to what his former team-mate was going through, his gaze had shifted to Kuroko and remained there. The phantom sixth man had slipped under the radar, he hadn't drank much at all and was only shirtless at this point but he wasn't as sober as he seemed. His eyes flickered from person to person in the circle before settling on Aomine's, they were brighter than usual or at least that's what Aomine thought as he subconsciously licked his lips, tracing the taste of vodka and rum with his tongue.

A hand on his shoulder spooked him, he jumped as Kagami's breathy voice tickled his ear.

"See something you want _Daiki_?"

"What? No! What are you talking about?"

Kagami laughed, the blatant lie only fuelling the amusement in his drunk haze. "I know that look."

"Taiga, you're _drunk_." Aomine dismissed, forcing the hand from his shoulder.

"So are you." The red-head whispered before backing away and wrapping an arm around Kuroko's shoulder, almost as if he was showing Aomine what he was missing out on.

 

\---

 

The dares had slowly gotten more ridiculous and some of them were heavily tailored for the couples present. Imayoshi was the only one sober for the most part, keeping his dignity right up until Akashi dared him to let Kise try and apply some sort of lip gloss - which ended up with the older boy's entire left cheek being coated in sticky syrup that smelt vaguely of strawberries - and he was going to get revenge for that one.

Kuroko didn't drink, that much was obvious, however his arm had been twisted by the group and agreed to 'try it out again' under both Kagami and Akashi's caring presence, both of whom were now very drunk whilst the shadow was trying to make sense of the weird feelings coursing through his veins.

"Tetsuya." Akashi slurred, the coin nearly falling from his fingers.

"Heads." So far he hadn't gotten many rounds wrong, there was no trick to it really. He knew from his research into the art of magic that there were various ways that Akashi _could_ rig the toss but he was far too wasted for that to really be a factor.

"It's tails." The heir grinned, it was rather unsettling to see him so happy but no-one really paid it any mind, far too wrapped up in their own states of drunkenness to care.

Kuroko blinked and waited. Akashi knew that the shadow wouldn't drink any more shots so he'd have to come up with a dare, one not as harsh as he would give to say Kagami or Kise who didn't have much to lose anymore but certainly not as forgiving as the ones he'd given Furihata.

"I dare you-" He announced, grabbing everyone's attention. "-to sit in Daiki's lap for the rest of the game."

There was a pause where no-one really understood the implications of this dare, especially Aomine, however when Kuroko shakily got to his feet they caught each other's eye there was a small wave of uneasiness. With Kagami's comment still fresh in Aomine's mind, the ace had to use every ounce of self-control to not protest too loudly as he allowed his former shadow to settle himself in the space between his thighs. He also had to contend with Kagami's amused but warning gaze on him, deep red eyes blown wide with alcohol caught cool blue ones as the unspoken statement was made.

_He's mine_

Aomine swallowed, not sure what to do with himself in this situation. He could rest his head on top of Kuroko's like he'd seen his rival do many times, arms wrapped around the smaller boy in content. However he didn't want to provoke the fiery temper of Kagami, even if he could fight him off he was still stuck in this lodge with him for another four days at least.

"Yukio. I dare you to go and do the Bloody Mary ritual."

Kasamatsu scoffed. "I refuse." He wasn't that immature _or_ stupid even if he was drunk.

"You forfeit?" Akashi seemed surprised, he expected the older boy to obey without hesitation. "So you'll let Shoichi mix you a death drink?"

The steel eyes widened, he didn't recall agreeing to _those_ terms. "Wait." He shoved Kise off his lap and stood up, swaying slightly as he tried to remember where the god damn bathroom was.

"Don't forget the candle _Yukio_." Imayoshi chimed with a grin, offering one white candle to the boy. Kasamatsu hesitated before taking it, letting Naoki light it before setting off down the hallway.

His heart raced in his chest, he knew there was no such thing has ghosts or demons but the alcohol in his system made him tremble, which in turn made the flame flicker. Shadows danced around the small bathroom as he turned around and closed the door, nodding to Imayoshi who had followed him down to make sure he did the dare. Kasamatsu sighed, calming himself as he faced the mirror.

"This is stupid." He stated. "Fucking Akashi."

It took him a few more seconds to muster his courage, he didn't want to take too long otherwise the others may accuse him of being scared, this was a foreign legend anyway so he doubted it held any power in this country.

"Bloody Mary." He hissed, eyes fixed on the mirror. He didn't expect anything to happen, he _knew_ nothing would happen because ghosts didn't exist.

"Bloody Mary."

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, he gritted his teeth as he tried to rationalise his thoughts. The bathroom was cooler and it was the middle of the night so it was only natural that his body was reacting to the drop in temperature.

" _Bloody Mary_." He near shouted, wanting to get this shit done with. The silence was deafening, his shaky breaths provided him with some comfort as the candle flickered. The reflection in the mirror didn't shift, it didn't move by itself and there sure as hell wasn't another person in the room.

A loud thud on the door spooked him, he let out a yelp - definitely _not_ a scream - and the candle went out. He scrambled for the door handle to find it locked. This was a little bit too real.

"Okay...okay..." Kasamatsu sighed, trying to steady his racing heart. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

He was in the dark, literally and figuratively. His head hurt from the hangover that awaited him in the morning but he also felt very uneasy.

"Oi." He called through the door. "I did the stupid dare, let me out."

No answer. Kasamatsu sighed and tried the handle again, surely they wouldn't have forgotten about him? Even Kise would've said something...

Unless they were all passed out.

That was something he hadn't considered.

"You fucking bastards let me out!" He called, rattling the door, it was a reasonably thin door and wouldn't take much to break it down but he didn't really want the bill for that.

The darkness was beginning to play tricks on him, he kept thinking there was someone else in the small room and with no other sounds he was becoming _very_ aware of his own breathing.

A click startled him, the door opened a crack as if a breeze rushed by. He slowly pushed it open, the lights were all out in the basement and he couldn't see or hear anyone. As he made his way back to the others he was somewhat stunned to find them all there just as he had left them except the fire was the only light - and it wasn't exactly bright.

"Did something happen?" He asked, finding Kise's eyes in the dimness.

The blond shook his head before pointing to the stairs, Akashi was stood on the mid-landing and staring up at the floor above. Kasamatsu was a little spooked by this sudden change in atmosphere, it felt odd and a lot less relaxed than before. The group were being quiet, Murasakibara and Takao had passed out but everyone else was alert - to some degree - and watching Akashi's actions.

The heir had a candle in his hand and his gaze was fixed on the top of the stairs before he turned to the group.

"Yukio did you hear anything odd in the bathroom?" He asked, the alcohol still influencing his behaviour slightly.

"No. It was quiet although the door was locked for a while and I couldn't get out."

"You should've said something!" Kise exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"I did!" Kasamatsu replied, shooting his lover a confused expression. "I was yelling for Imayoshi to unlock the door!"

"Imayoshi? He never followed you down there..." Kagami uttered. "He went upstairs which is why Akashi--"

"Shh." The heir commanded, holding out a hand to silence everyone. Sounds of footsteps above them caused to look at each other uneasily.

It took a few moments for Kasamatsu to ask why the lights were out, he was met with conflicted expressions from Midorima and Kise, Aomine still had Kuroko sat in his lap and was now proceeding to hug the smaller boy from behind.

"The lights just went out." Furihata responded when no-one else did. "Sei told Naoki to go outside and check the fuse box."

"That's when Imayoshi went upstairs, he didn't say anything he just got up and left." Kagami added.

Himuro, despite being spaced out earlier, seemed to be the most alert now. He got up and walked to the door leading outside, the same one Naoki had gone out to find the fuse box.

"Is it possible that it isn't a fuse problem?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder to Akashi.

"This lodge isn't haunted." The heir dead-panned, taking another step up.

"But Kasamatsu _did_ just perform the Bloody Mary ritual."

Kagami let out a laugh. "Really? You think that actually worked? Come on Tatsuya, all the times we played it in America and it failed--"

"I actually remember you nearly pissing yourself one time--"

A pillow was launched at Himuro's head to shut him up. An uneasy silence fell, one that stretched on for a while before Akashi sprinted up the stairs. The sounds of a scuffle could be heard before a loud thud echoed in the silence.

"So...Kasamatsu...you're the oldest here right? Why don't you go up and find out what just happened?" Aomine's bravado was obviously faked as he hugged Kuroko a little tighter. The shadow didn't complain though.

With a heavy heart Kasamatsu stood up, shaking Kise's hand from his own as he grabbed his phone to use as a flashlight. The stairs creaked as he ascended, not sure what he wanted to see when he got to the main floor. Moonlight bathed the room through the large windows, shadows lurked in the corners and behind furniture as he rounded the partition to the kitchen. There was no-one up here.

"Akashi?" He called, assuming Imayoshi was either hiding or dead by the heir's hand.

No response. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end when he heard a door open behind him, slowly, he turned and peered down the hallway. It was the second bathroom door, open just a crack. With mounting curiosity and apprehension he made his way down the narrow space.

"Hello?" He whispered, hand closing around the handle, it was cold.

The bathroom was identical to the one below, except the shower curtain was pulled across and obscured the view of the shower. Every fibre of his being told him not to do it but he wouldn't be able to face the others if they found out he was too cowardly to prove himself wrong. He bided his time, waiting, cursing, sighing and trying to reason with himself that there really was going to be nothing behind the curtain.

" _There's no such thing as ghosts_." he told himself, fingers closing around the curtain and pulling it back quickly. A void greeted him almost mockingly. With a sigh of relief he backed up and started to turn around, coming face to face with a figure in the doorway.

He let out a scream, instinct kicking in and causing him to knee who - or what - stood in his way in the stomach. As the figure doubled over he pushed past and nearly fell down the stairs in the effort to get back to the others.

Kise's warm embrace greeted him as he babbled out the events, sobriety crashing into him almost as hard as fear had. It was when he heard the laughter that glared in the direction of the staircase.

"I wouldn't have thought that the former captain of Kaijou would scare so easily." Imayoshi grinned. "Although I could've done without the knee to the groin..."

"Wha--"

"Just to clarify Yukio, it was all a prank." Akashi added with a smirk. "A well-executed one if I do say so myself."

 

\---

 

Aomine was confused, also slightly drunk but mainly confused.

He was starting to question himself.

As Kuroko remained in his lap, seeming to enjoy the feeling of his former light's company, Aomine was starting to think, and thinking is dangerous.

Kagami hadn't torn the smaller boy from his hold yet, something that Aomine thought would happen as soon as the game was abandoned in favour of trying to prevent Kasamatsu from killing everyone. No, instead Kagami _smiled_ and it wasn't one of those smug 'I know something you don't' smiles, it was one that showed approval. Approval at what Aomine wasn't sure but he was thinking about it.

The alcohol had been poured out again, the blurred vision and fire burning inside his chest were back after the brief interlude. Kuroko pressed back against his chest and Aomine found his hands on the shadow's waist. His thumbs slipped underneath the other's shirt, just grazing the exposed skin before he realised what he was doing.

He was playing a dangerous game, if he did decide to give this strange desire a go then he'd be putting a lot at stake - not to mention that Kagami would probably kill him. But _why_ would Kagami kill him? He didn't own Kuroko, heck Aomine had more of a claim than he did--

Then the realisation hit him.

The drunken kisses, the touches, the room sharing, the marks on Kise's body and just _everything_. It all added up to the thing that he hadn't wanted to admit.

His friends were gay.

It wasn't that he was against the idea, it was more that it was something that he hadn't considered being _possible_. These former team-mates of his were in happy - albeit slightly strange - relationships and he hadn't even noticed. He had simply chalked it all up to them being over-friendly with their new teams. He felt a little bit stupid now.

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur, more drinks were poured and the group slowly began to head to bed. Soon it was just Kagami, Kuroko and Aomine remaining, with Imayoshi being the last to leave. It didn't take long for his mouth to betray his thoughts.

"I see it now."

Kagami and Kuroko exchanged glances before the red-head responded. "Oh really?"

"You're all gay."

"Kise is actually bisexual." Kagami corrected quickly. "And I have no idea what Imayoshi's stance is."

"The point is you're all screwing each other."

"No it's not Aomine-kun." Kuroko piped up, craning his neck to look at Aomine with bright eyes and a slightly amused smile on his face. "We're in relationships, I don't believe any of us are sleeping around."

The bluenette was slightly annoyed at being corrected in such a manner but he allowed it, Kuroko's small smile was something that could melt butter and he didn't see it often. He missed it if he was being honest.

"Still. Are you happy now Taiga? You got me to see it."

Kagami smirked. "I guess, if that's all you see then I'm not going to push it."

Aomine was confused again, there was more? No there couldn't be. It was only when he eventually moved to walk down the hallway that he started to understand what Kagami meant; a glance over his shoulder to see the two of them locked in an embrace made the longing in his chest grow.

Sure is friends were gay - or bisexual in Kise's case - that much was clear. Aomine was left questioning where his interests lay, it wasn't that he longed for _someone_ to want him in that way...

He wanted Kuroko back but that wouldn't be possible with Kagami around.

Or would it?


	5. A change of pace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I don't know how to format things sometimes I'm sorry)  
> I'm ridiculously tired, it's currently 1:45am, my family is annoying me and my chocolate supplies are running low.  
> Also I have no real plot for this fic so it's somewhat being made up as I please - there is a vague idea of an ending but pretty much anything could happen.
> 
> All of that aside; thank-you so much for reading and leaving kudos, it really brightens my day to know I'm making people happy!

  
Kasamatsu woke up to breakfast in bed, with Kise smiling nervously next to him on the bed. He rubbed his eyes and cursed the hangover that the fear hadn't prevented before properly looking at the plate in front of him.

"Crepes?" He asked, not entirely sure whether Kise had actually made them or not, he knew his lover liked French cuisine occasionally so it wouldn't be beyond the bounds of possibility.

"Yeah!" Kise replied, blush creeping over his face. "I-I felt bad after last night and had Naoki make these for you...just to say I'm sorry?"

The older boy smiled, so maybe he shouldn't hold it against Kise, especially when it was explained that Akashi had demanded everyone played along whether they wanted to or not. He held out his arm and let the ace snuggle up to him as he ate, occasionally feeding him some of the pastry.

"You know, a simple apology would've worked." He uttered, setting the empty plate on the bedside table. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

"I just wanted to..." Kise's voice trailed off, looking at his senpai with the adoration that he once used to try and get away with things during practice, those days were long gone though now that the captain was at university. "I felt bad."

"Don't worry about it Ryouta." He sighed, pressing a kiss to the other's temple. "I love you."

Kise turned and captured Kasamatsu's lips, hands coming up to cup the older boy's face as he shuffled closer. The blond smiled into the kiss, playfully nipping at Kasamatsu's bottom lip as he tasted the sugar on his lover's tongue.

A knock at the door distracted them, Kise's hands had found their way under the other boy's shirt but quickly left as the door opened. Aomine raised an eyebrow before averting his gaze.

"Uh, Kise can I talk to you about something?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He somewhat wished he hadn't walked in without consent. "When you're not...uh busy."

With a quick peck on the cheek Kise shooed the other ace out into the hallway. "What is it Aominecchi?"

"I need some...advice." Aomine couldn't believe he was asking _Kise_ for this kind of stuff but his other options were Midorima - who would just scoff probably - Akashi -which didn't need explaining as to why that was a _bad_ idea - and Murasakibara - who would probably kill him for waking him up without food - so that left Kise, the one that he probably would say he felt closest to.

"Advice on what?" The blond wanted to just get back to Kasamatsu before everyone else woke up but he couldn't turn down a friend in need.

Aomine sighed heavily. "So I know you're bisexual." He uttered. "And I was just wondering how you...knew."

The question was a curve ball for Kise, he tilted his head to the side as he thought back to when he realised he wasn't straight. There hadn't been any fireworks, no midnight epiphanies. Instead there had been several days of internal cries of confusion and flustered glances at his captain until that fateful moment in the locker room.

"I guess, you just start questioning yourself. You see things, hear things..." He murmured in response. "You start thinking about the 'what ifs' and - if you do have a person in mind - whether they feel the same way. You might go looking for porn and shit to see if you really are that way inclined." He chuckled slightly but couldn't help noticing how Aomine actually appeared to be hanging on his every word, he wasn't avoiding eye contact or looking disinterested. He was nodding, taking everything in without question. Kise wondered if something had happened last night.

"Why? Is there something on your mind?"

Aomine snapped out of his trance. "What? No. Nothing." He answered quickly.

Kise smiled, Aomine couldn't lie very well, his blushing face gave it away instantly. "There is. Someone's made you question yourself."

"Shut up baka."

Kise didn't push the issue, he knew Aomine wouldn't be subtle about his endeavours in the slightest, it was only a matter of time before he made it obvious. He shrugged.

"Well if you need anymore advice you know where to find me."

"How long have you and Kasa been a thing?"

Another question Kise hadn't been expecting. "Eight months." He smiled. "Turns out losing in the Winter cup wasn't so bad."

With that, he disappeared back into the room leaving Aomine to dwell on this new information. The Touou ace regarded the door with a smirk before deciding to go upstairs, maybe the butler dude would be making breakfast, maybe he'd be able to give him some advice.

 

\---

 

"Who the hell thought trusting _you_ with a knife would end well?" Midorima sighed as Takao nearly sliced through the taped up fingers grasping the pumpkin for the third time.

"Shin-chan if you kept your hands still then I wouldn't nearly stab them!"

The chaos that was carving jack o'lanterns was progressing well, so far no-one had been stabbed and Akashi had only threatened Kagami twice. Murasakibara had tried to eat the raw pumpkin pulp and only Himuro's quick thinking had distracted him, a murmured agreement containing the phrase 'you can eat all you want tonight' was overheard by Kasamatsu which in turn almost made him drive the blade he was holding into the counter-top.

Kuroko and Furihata sat back and watched the two red-head's compete to see who could carve the better lantern, each with a vanilla shake provided by Naoki. When the first fistful of pulp was thrown in Aomine's direction the butler nearly swore loudly.

Aomine tried, he really did, to not rise to the occasion but Kise was just asking for it. He reached into the pumpkin Imayoshi was busy scooping pulp out of - probably imagining it was some unfortunate soul's brain - and grabbed the entrails. Keeping his gaze on the blond as he raised his fist and launched the foul smelling substance, it would've hit Kise had he not been watching Aomine from the corner of his eye and ducked at the last second.

Safe to say, Himuro was not impressed in the slightest. The years of growing up with Kagami did somewhat prove useful in that moment when the muffled laughter went around the group. Murasakibara picked seeds out of his hair as the shooting guard narrowed his eyes at Aomine, it didn't take long for him to grab his own ammunition and aim for the ace, hitting Imayoshi as well.

Naoki threw his hands in the air and gave up. He wasn't going to be able to control these teenagers so he might as well admit defeat. He didn't quite lower himself to the immaturity that was throwing pulp at each other but he gave up trying to stop them.

Midorima made a quick exit from the carnage, electing to seek refuge from Kuroko and Furihata's vantage point as Takao got stuck in. Akashi simply regarded all of this with a raised eyebrow, knowing that eventually someone would get tackled to the floor and end the food fight. He had picked up on Aomine's change in demeanour, figuring that maybe the ace had finally caught up with the rest of them.

"Don't you dare Daiki." Kagami warned his rival. "Don't you fucking dare."

"What are you gonna do about it Taiga?"

It hadn't escaped everyone's attention that they were on first name basis as the two of them smiled at each other, Aomine moved to cover Kagami's face in the sticky substance but he red-head was too quick, grabbing the other's arm and forcing him to the ground with a thud, this time he was the one pinning Aomine down.

"Have you ever considered being a bottom?" He whispered, grin spreading across his face.

"Screw you." Aomine choked, not able to stop the blush on his face.

"That's what Tetsuya is for."

"Dude that's fucking gross I did--" Aomine started. "--wait you bottom for Tetsu?!"

"As if!"

Akashi laughed, everyone else took that as a cue to join in. Kagami got off the other ace before extending a hand to help him off the floor. With a slightly flushed face Aomine accepted the hand, trying not to think about Kagami and Kuroko having sex, he was pretty sure that no-one noticed how red his face was but an elbow to the ribs said otherwise.

"Think with your head not your dick." Imayoshi murmured, returning to delicately slicing eye-sockets in the pumpkin. "And stop blushing, you look like a school girl."

Aomine was about to object when he caught Kise's eye, the honey-coloured orbs bore into his, searching for traces of embarrassment and finding many. He winked and Aomine wanted to die. Kuroko had seen the entire exchange, smiling as his suspicions were quickly being confirmed. Furihata questioned him and he explained it in detail to his team-mate.

"So what you're saying is Aomine has a crush on you that dates back to middle school?"

"Not really. He thought of me as his equal for most of the time until his talents grew." The shadow replied, the pulp had been collected up and most of it was deemed usable for whatever pumpkin-flavoured dish Kagami would be able to cook up. They were putting the finishing touches to their lanterns as the two conversed.

"I have to admit, some of his actions says otherwise."

 "But you're with Kagami now so surely Aomine wouldn't act on it?"

Kuroko knew deep down that Aomine wouldn't dare to, he had accepted that the days of him being Kuroko's light were over but that didn't mean he'd be able to stop any developing feelings now.

"I don't know." Was all he could reply with. "Aomine is unpredictable and so is Kagami. You'd be surprised how many similarities there are between them."

The brunette was about to question that statement but was interrupted by Akashi declaring he was done. The heir had carved two bats into the pumpkin, he looked rather impressed as he sought approval from Furihata.

Within the following minutes the others either finished their attempts or just gave up; Takao had managed to get most of his lantern carved into somewhat resembled a grinning ghoul, Himuro had spent so much time trying to keep Murasakibara from getting distracted that their lantern had been half completed by Kise to look like a cat, leaving Kasamatsu to finish the traditional style face.

"Did you seriously carve that?" Kise asked Kagami as he revealed his efforts with a grin.

"Yeah, no thanks to you starting a pumpkin fight." The red-head replied. "I think I did rather well."

Akashi examined the pumpkin, it appeared to be an owl, a rather _adorable_ owl if he was being honest and he wondered where the hell Kagami had gotten the inspiration from. Imayoshi was the last to show off his carving expertise, out of all of them it was definitely the most...unsettling.

"What...what is that meant to be?" Takao asked, peering into the eye sockets. "A demon?"

"Clearly it's a self-portrait pumpkin style." Aomine remarked, nearly getting a punch to the gut.

"I mean I see where he's coming from, it's even got your grin." Kagami sided with the other ace, leaning on his shoulder.

Regardless of whether or not Imayoshi intended it to resemble himself, Akashi declared the entire process a success and stated that they should all be taken downstairs to be lit when it got dark. Everyone was left to their own devices as Naoki began to clean up and prepare for dinner, enlisting Aomine and Kagami to help him.

Aomine was debating asking Kagami when he and Kuroko had gotten together, he was curious as to how long everyone had been dating...it certainly wasn't anything to do with having an interest in them. Kagami was arrogant, ill-mannered, bad-tempered and those were just a few of the things that Aomine disliked, there was no way that he'd _ever_ be caught with that.

"Oi, focus." Kagami scolded, hitting his forehead with a wooden spoon. Aomine glared at the other for interrupting his thought process. "Or you won't know which ones are apples and which ones are onions."

"The fuck are you talking about?"

"We're pranking Akashi-kun." Kuroko remarked from the other-side of Aomine.

The ace looked at the tray in front of him, apples and onions sat with sticks driven into them beside a saucepan of caramel. It didn't take an idiot to figure out what was in store for the others.

"So I'm going to put the onions on this plate." Kagami declared, handing Kuroko a pale blue china plate. "And the apples on this one." He handed Aomine a reddish plate. "Don't get them confused."

"I'm not a moron." Aomine sighed. "I can tell the difference between red and blue dumbass."

"No comment." Kagami smirked, picking up the first apple and dipping it into the pan.

The Touou ace rolled his eyes, gaining a small chuckle from Kuroko, for a brief second it felt like he was top of the world. He shoved that thought from his mind as the caramel-coated apple was placed on the plate he was holding. It was a long process but Kagami assured the two of them that the look on Akashi's face would be priceless and well worth the effort.

The rain had been hammering against the glass panes for about an hour when they finally took the two plates downstairs. Kagami's logic was that no-one would trust whatever Aomine was offering so they'd pick Kuroko and thus end up eating onions instead. Aomine accused the red-head of hanging out with Imayoshi and Akashi too much, which Kuroko laughed at and consequently made Aomine feel a little giddy inside.

Either way, Akashi fell for Kagami's logic, taking one of the supposed treats from Kuroko, as did Midorima and Kise. Aomine was surprised at his former team-mates but tried not to smirk as the others bit into the apples from his plate.

"Taiga." Akashi's eye flickered. "What is this?"

Kagami swallowed, deciding that the only way out of this would be to blame Aomine. "Oh, Ahomine must've mixed up the plates."

"Wait what--"

"You coated onions with caramel Daiki?"

Aomine didn't think twice, he shook his head and stuck a middle finger up to Kagami. "You bastard Taiga..."

Akashi didn't need to say anything, simply sighing and standing up, Furihata watched as his lover approached the bluenette and forced him to bite into the raw onion. The ace spluttered and took a step backwards, walking into Kagami as his jaw closed on the sticky mess of onion layers and caramel.

There wasn't much to it, Aomine batted Akashi's hand away and spat the onion onto the plate - he was damned if he was going to clean it off the floor. Laughter ensued, he had to admit it was somewhat amusing but he was _definitely_ going to get Kagami back for that one.

"Now that we're done with that." Akashi sighed, sitting back on the couch. "Do something useful Daiki and light the lanterns."

 

\---

 

In the eerie glow of the lanterns and the fireplace, Akashi grinned at Imayoshi. The two of them had planned tonight's events during the afternoon, there was going to be no room for error in their scheme. The others had already caught on to the fact that the room was darker and the hallway leading to the bathroom seemed more sinister, the stairs were cloaked in a veil of moonlight from the windows of the floor above, Naoki had left for the evening and the entire lodge was silent safe for the sound of wood crackling.

"So." Akashi spoke, his eyes both red as he addressed the group. "Tonight there will be no drinking."

"Thank fuck." Kasamatsu sighed, he was so done with hangovers and the taste of liquor.

"Instead we're telling ghost stories."

The look of utter horror on Kagami's face was priceless, Aomine couldn't help but smirk, served the idiot right for getting him in trouble with Akashi. The others seemed up for it, a nice change of pace from cliché party games which none of them would remember the next day.

"I'll start." The heir declared, he took Furihata's hand in his to quell the boy's apprehension.

Kagami swallowed, bringing his knees up onto the couch as everyone got comfortable enough to listen without distraction; Kuroko and Aomine were sharing the couch with him, the shadow between two lights and neither seemed put off by the circumstances, Takao was resting his legs across Midorima's lap and had been engaging in a game of footsie with Kise who had mirrored his position with Kasamatsu on the second couch.

The last couch was somewhat crowded in comparison; Furihata was basically sat on Akashi's lap, Murasakibara sprawled out with Himuro cuddled up to him, this left Imayoshi sitting on the arm of the couch, the oldest boy present didn't complain though, he had a decent view of everyone which would be useful later on.

"I'll keep these stories short, to the point. That way we'll be able to fit more in." Akashi continued, eyes fixing on the single candle that was situated on the coffee table, flame dancing in the slight breeze created by their presence. "The first is called; the tunnel of horrors."

"There are many tales from America of cursed places, it's not surprising given the history of the land. It seems that the more rural the place, the more horrific the curse. During the 1930s there was an amusement park in one rural area, specifically where is not important, and there was a ride aimed at young children, think pre-schooler ages. It was innocent enough, a three car train that went around some loops and two tunnels. Nothing scary right?" He spoke slowly, eyes travelling around the group as he smiled slightly.

"The year it opened there was a strange influx of child deaths, some kids simply disappeared within the tunnels, each only being around twenty feet long, and others went into a comatose like state after leaving the ride. One incident reported that a girl was dead, bloodied hand prints on her clothing. Others say that the kids scratched their own _throats_ until they bled out, there was even a reported murder by another child.  
  The park was closed and mostly forgotten about until recently. A team of scientists were determined to find out just what had caused so many deaths so they came up with an experiment. They taped a camera to the front of the train and put an intern in the middle cart before starting the ride. The train came back empty, as for the camera, everything was normal until it entered the tunnel - the footage cut to static and all that could be heard was the laughter of children."

Takao was the first to speak after the prolonged silence. "So they never found the intern?"

"Nope." Akashi replied. "All they heard was the laughter of children."

Kagami wasn't scared, merely unsettled. He glanced at Kuroko who seemed to be unaffected before his gaze settled on Aomine. In the back of his mind he wished that Kuroko wasn't sat between them so he could try and scare his rival during one of the stories.

"Probably false." Midorima sighed, adjusting his glasses. "It's physically impossible for a tunnel to make people disappear."

"Unless it was a portal to another dimension? Or a black hole?" Kasamatsu countered. "Mathematically speaking--"

"Alright shut up both of you." Himuro sighed, not wanting this to turn into a debate, he came along to this crazy gathering to get _away_ from his studies. "Akashi, continue."

The heir nodded, taking note that someone was actually interested to hear more. "This one comes from India. So it was a boarding school for girls, the dormitories were in an old building where electricity was scarce so candlelight was used frequently but sparingly after dark. It was common practice for the girls to go to the bathroom in pairs, one would wake up her room-mate to accompany here in the early hours of the morning in order to feel a little safer. One morning, four am to be precise, one girl woke up her room-mate so she could go to the bathroom, during the trip down the dark quiet corridor they said nothing, her room-mate hummed along to one of their favourite songs softly but other than that it was quiet and uneventful."

The candle flickered, Kagami watched it dance as Akashi paused.

"The next morning she was awoken suddenly by raised voices. School security were in her room and crowded around her roommate's bed. She peered between them to see her lifeless eyes staring towards her bed, smile on her face. The coroner declared it was suicide, approximate time of death; 11:30pm. Five hours before she had supposedly woken her friend up to use the restroom."

A chill ran down Kise's spine, his body tensed against Kasamatsu only to be soothed by tender lips against his neck.

"It's just a story Ryouta." He whispered.

Aomine was neither amused or scared, he had forgotten how captivating Akashi's voice could be when all hostility was dropped from it.

"Got any more?" Takao asked, starting to enjoy this change of pace, the mystery and the way the heir could command everyone's attention for something so simplistic.

Akashi smiled, for once he was enjoying not really having an agenda. If he knew how much fun telling ghost stories was then he would've started a long time ago.

"Of course I do." He replied, catching Imayoshi's eye. "Enough to keep you up all night."

Kagami's stomach was feeling uneasy, he didn't like the idea of Akashi continuing but he really couldn't object without coming across as a coward. He sighed internally and found Kuroko's hand, giving it a slight squeeze as there was a pause for thought. This was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (sidenote: I don't claim credit for the stories told in this chapter - they came from the internet)


	6. The Rake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the plot is a thing and I'm trying to keep it moving at a decent pace.  
> I'm also trying to include more of the other pairings as it was bought to my attention that I kinda neglected them (writing in 3rd person is hard after you've written in 1st person for 5 years so please bare with me.) so yeah, that's progress?

  
Himuro didn't let on straight away how engrossed he was in this situation, ghost stories were a somewhat moot point with him as most of the activity could be explained away by science but something about the way Akashi spun these tales held his attention. The shooting guard rested his head on Murasakibara's chest as he listened intently to whatever urban legend Akashi was using to get everyone else feeling uneasy.

The movements were subtle at first, he hardly noticed them as his attention was elsewhere. As Akashi's story came to an end he felt a pressure on his lower back, thumbs drawing circles under the fabric of his shirt. He smiled slightly, training his eyes on the heir as he pressed back against the fingers.

"Muro-chin should sit still." A low voice whispered in his ear, the others were bickering about how Kagami definitely wasn't scared so they didn't see the other stiffen at the hot breath on his neck.

"Or what?" He murmured in reply, regarding the giant through his fringe. The faintest trace of a smile played on the ace's lips before the hand moved to hold the toned hip.

"Muro-chin won't be able to sit at all."

The shiver that ran down Himuro's spine made him flinch slightly, he swallowed, regaining his composure as his mind raced to conjure up the images that the statement implied. The hand was still at his hip, warm fingers digging into flesh ever-so-slightly as Akashi declared that he was done telling stories and that someone else should take over.

"Imayoshi? Come on you've probably got some creepy stories." Takao suggested, taking time out from his footsie war with Kise to shoot the older boy a glance.

The former captain laughed, leaning his elbows on his knees as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Do you want to sleep tonight?"

No-one replied at first. The fire crackled and the shadows shifted as he stood up and began pacing the room. The overall feeling in the group was one of unease, Akashi's stories had taken darker and darker turns until Furihata was physically shaking. The heir had immediately called for a break, pressing lips gently to his lover's neck in an effort to calm him down.

"Hit us with your best one." Aomine replied, smirk on his face and Kagami glaring daggers at him. "I doubt you can scare us."

Imayoshi grinned, running a hand along the back of the couch that Aomine sat on as he walked towards the fireplace.

"A little over ten years ago there was a media frenzy in America concerning the appearance of a peculiar creature, a blackout wiped the official reports of these encounters but it wasn't long before a group of  researchers collected more accounts from all over the world, almost identical to one another."

As stories went, it was a slow burner. At least that's what most of the group were thinking as Imayoshi continued to pace the room, keeping his voice low but loud, fingers dragging along whatever he walked past as he ducked in and out of the shadows.

"The first gathered came from 1964. _It is not the fault of anyone but him. I awoke and felt his presence. I saw his form. I heard his voice and looked into his eyes. Now I cannot sleep for I cannot wake and see him again - goodbye_. The author took their life that night.

    The second came from 1880, _I have experienced the greatest terror. I see its eyes when I close mine. They are hollow and black. Like coal pits. When they saw me they pierced me. Its wet hand. Its voice--_ the rest of the message was unintelligible."

Kagami didn't trust the boy pacing behind him, he already knew that he wasn't beyond sneaking up on people; as the prank with Kasamatsu had shown. He swallowed, squeezing Kuroko's hand a little more as Imayoshi continued, voice not growing louder or going quieter.

"The third, the earliest of the lot, was from a mariner's log in 1691, _He came to me in my sleep. He took everything. He stood at the end of my bed. We must return to England and we must never return here at the request of the Rake._ "

"The Rake?" Furihata murmured. Imayoshi grinned, the candle on the coffee table flickered violently.

"Patience." Was all the former captain stated. "For the fourth account, from only a few years ago actually, is the most detailed one of them all."

He paused, seeming to listen for something, peering down the darkened hallway towards the bathroom before looking back at the group. The silence was uncomfortable, no-one wanted to say anything but it was too quiet without conversation.

"It was four in the morning when the woman woke up, she thought her husband was in the restroom so she pulled the sheets around her only to find he was still in bed. He woke up and he glanced at the end of the bed, within seconds he pulled his feet up, startled by something. At the end of the bed was what at first appeared to be a naked man or a hairless creature of some sort but it was facing away from the two of them so the woman couldn't be sure.

   In a quick movement, the creature scrambled around the side of the bed, twisted limbs knocking over furniture until it was facing the husband. Time passed, the exact amount was uncertain as it stared with black eyes. It moved quickly, darting around the bed and into the hallway. The woman flew to turn on the light, fearful for her children's safety with the creature in the house still, the light of the bedroom illuminated the hallway enough for her to see trails of blood on the floor..."

Imayoshi paused again, letting his voice fade as he stood in front of the fireplace, shadow stretching out over the floor. He surveyed the group, most of them shifting uneasily as the silence once again took over. Kagami seemed the most unnerved by everything, shuffling ever-so-slightly closer to Kuroko as the silence continued.

"She turned on the hall light, the creature was less than twenty feet from her, crouched over the body of her daughter, covered in blood. It turned and stared at her with eyes darker than the night sky. It scrambled down the stairs as the couple flew to their daughter's body, she was alive and uttered one thing before passing out;

    _He is the Rake._

    The husband rushed to get her to the hospital, crashing the car into a tree and killing both of them in the process. The woman lived on with their son, forever changed by this experience, forever paranoid that one night she'll wake up and find it sitting, staring at her with those black eyes..."

He spoke no more, Akashi raised an eyebrow as he regarded the older male.

"I-Is that a true story?" Kise uttered, breaking the silence.

Imayoshi grinned. "Who is to say? It might be. The Rake might exist, it might not."

"Of course it's not true." Midorima sighed, startling Takao with his irritated tone. "Creatures like that don't exist."

"You seem awfully sure of yourself." Aomine noted, folding his arms over his chest.

"He's right. Of course it doesn't exist." Kagami agreed with the older male, much to Aomine's annoyance and everyone else's slight surprise.

"Just 'cause you're scared." Aomine remarked, grinning in a fashion similar to Imayoshi. "I bet you couldn't walk through the lodge by yourself right now without pissing yourself."

Kagami never backed down from a challenge, even if he partly agreed with the arrogant male. "Fuck you. Of course I can."

Akashi and Imayoshi shared a glance. "A test of courage? Sounds fun." The heir stated.

"Oh god." Himuro murmured, attracting the attention of everyone, his cheeks were flushed red which was unusual for the poker-faced male.

"What?" Kagami asked, narrowing his eyes as Murasakibara just raised an eyebrow, hand still on the other's hip.

"Nothing."

Aomine chuckled. "Stop getting distracted Taiga. Are you gonna do it or not?"

 

\---

 

Kagami cursed himself, he shouldn't have risen to Aomine's challenge. He knew he shouldn't have made his fear of ghosts that obvious but Himuro had bought it up last night and now there was no backing out. Akashi had come up with the idea of him retrieving the shuriken still embedded in the wall of his room, alone.

The ace knew it was stupid to be shaking just from the thought of walking through the empty lodge, he knew that the only thing to be fearful of was his stupid friends playing jokes on him, he knew that the Rake didn't exist.

Yet there he stood at the bottom of the stairs, gritting his teeth as he glared up at the first floor.

"You can't be afraid of ghosts Kagamicchi, you're dating one for a start." Kise remarked.

"Kuroko's not a ghost!" Kagami bit back.

"We promise we won't prank you." Akashi smirked, flecks of orange in his eyes saying otherwise.

Kagami snorted, he didn't believe that for one second. With peer pressure mounting and his own pride at stake he took a step up. It was a simple task that he was only doing to prove a point; he wasn't scared.

A simple, but stupid task.

The large windows of the first floor gave him a view of the forest shrouded in the darkness that the moonlight couldn't penetrate. It lured the ace closer, he hadn't really taken in the surrounding area and his heightened paranoia only caused him to wonder what dwelled in the shadows.

"Get a hold of yourself Taiga..." he hissed to himself, hand coming up to clench the ring that hung around his neck, a gesture to soothe his nerves. "It doesn't exist."

Tearing his eyes away from the windows, he gathered his thoughts in the lounge, his heart was racing, drumming in his ears as he sighed. The hallway leading to the bedrooms was barely illuminated, he swallowed, running a hand through his hair as he urged his body to move towards the stairs.

No-one really dared to go up Akashi's room, mainly because there was a danger of death but there was also an unsettling feeling about the landing that overlooked the lounge. The floorboards creaked under his footsteps, causing him to flinch at first until he convinced himself that there was absolutely nothing to be scared of. He ran a hand along the wooden railing as he approached the door to the converted loft space.

Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw something by the windows, his fingers tightened on polished wood as he froze. It struck him that he couldn't hear anything, the lodge was open plan so surely he'd be able to hear the others even muffled? They had to be planning something. There's no way they'd sit in silence otherwise.

"If any of you are gonna start fucking with me then don't bother." He stated loudly, hoping that if any of them had planned to scare him then they'd give up now.

With a new found sense of courage, no matter how deluded he seemed, his hand closed around the door handle. The door was locked. He furrowed his eyebrows, why the fuck would Akashi send him up here if it was locked? Pausing for a moment to consider his options, he rubbed the back of his neck. A sound alerted him to someone's presence, he peered over the railing at the area below him; the shadows didn't move, the light wasn't obstructed, there were no voices or footsteps.

He shook his head, convinced that Aomine or Imayoshi were trying to screw with his mind. He turned back to the door and tried the handle again, this time it opened easily. Shaking off the feeling of dread he poked his head inside the room and found the shuriken almost instantly, buried in the wall just like Akashi said it would be.

As he turned to leave he bumped into someone. He startled and fell backwards into the room, clutching the ninja star in his hand as he stared at the form in the doorway.

"Tetsuya..." He sighed, eyes focusing enough to make out who it was. His pulse was sky-high as he regained his breath and the shadow of Seirin knelt beside him. "What is it?"

"I need to ask you something."

"Couldn't it wait til I was back? You have me a fucking heart attack!"

"Taiga, I think Aomine has a crush on us."

"Us? As in _both_ of us? Me and you? Right." The ace shook his head, his boyfriend had some strange thought processes sometimes. His paranoia from earlier hadn't really subsided yet and sitting on the floor of Akashi's room wasn't really the best place to rectify that. "I dunno. He seems as arrogant as usual. Why do you think he does?"

The other didn't reply at first, he simply took Kagami's free hand and rubbing a thumb over the palm. "You two argue like a married couple."

"We do not!"

"That aside, Aomine and I were close up until his talents grew too much. Kise always joked about how he never saw one of us without the other. I'm not going to lie to you Taiga, that kind of closeness doesn't just vanish."

Kagami gave him a look, the dim light from outside the room only gave him a limited view of Kuroko's face but he had a feeling he knew what Kuroko was getting at.

"You...still feel that close to him?"

Kuroko nodded. "I love you Taiga. Nothing changes that. After the Winter Cup we obviously started hanging out more and I just feel like we could go back to how it used to be..."

"I know." Kagami didn't really know how to feel about this, he didn't feel a massive attraction to Aomine - at least not consciously anyway - but if Kuroko still felt close enough to consider it, who was he to judge? It was a well-known fact that the two aces were similar in personality so it almost wasn't surprising.

"So what made you pick me over him?"

The question was somewhat expected, Kuroko smiled, squeezing Kagami's hand slightly. "There are differences between the two of you, not many people see them but they're there. One of the more obvious ones is how you act when you're alone."

"Oh really?"

"Aomine's still very unruly in private, it's fine for someone who has the energy to cope with that--"

"And I'm not? Really?"

"You're more..." He paused before smiling. "Tame."

Kagami laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. If Ahomine actually wants to do something about it then we'll figure something out."

The other nodded, shuffling forward slightly. "Regardless. I love you Taiga."

"I love you too Tetsuya."

The shadow closed the gap between them, pressing his lips against Kagami's in a tender kiss. The ace smiled into it, dropping the shuriken to cup Kuroko's face gently. The faintest of whimpers came from the younger boy as the ace moved to deepen the kiss, the darkness no longer something to be afraid of.

 

\---

 

Takao was bored, the stories had been fun but the unsettling silence that fell once Kagami left had paved the way for boredom. Midorima was still arguing that the Rake didn't exist and the conversation was long dead.

"Can we _do_ something?" Takao asked the group still gathered, Kuroko had disappeared to go and see if Kagami was cowering in the corner. "I'm bored."

"What do you guys think is more terrifying; ghosts or serial killers?" Imayoshi asked, he had been pacing the room whilst Kagami went on his test of courage. His question was met with a glare from Kasamatsu and Midorima.

"Clearly serial killers." Midorima sighed. "Because there's no such thing as gho--"

"You say that Midorimacchi but would you really be more scared of a serial killer than something you can't see?"

"Yeah I mean, if a serial killer gets me then it's like 'oh shit people are crazy' but ghosts fuck up your head and everything you know." Takao interrupted.

Midorima rolled his eyes. Akashi laughed as Furihata looked about uneasily, he didn't really appreciate this conversation topic but it was better than the stories that his boyfriend had been telling.

"Once a ghost is in your house you're on an even playing field. If a serial killer is there then he - or she - will be thinking about ways to kill you and you'll most likely die." Himuro chimed in, shifting from Murasakibara's lap to get involved in the conversation.

"You can hit a serial killer, you can't hit a spirit!" Kasamatsu countered. "How the fuck is that an even playing field? A ghost tries to kill you then you're dead no problem."

"How do you know you can't hit a ghost?" Aomine asked with a raised eyebrow. "Have you met a ghost?"

"Logically speaking--" Takao began, pouting his lips slightly. "If you go into a castle and find it's haunted, any sane person would _leave_ the castle and the ghost can't follow them."

"How do you know that?!" Himuro remarked, standing up and pointing at the point guard.

Takao flipped him off as Kise jumped on the bandwagon. "Because when a ghost is murdered they're stuck in the building that they--"

"You can't murder a ghost you baka!" Aomine laughed.

"How do _you_ know?" Akashi asked with a grin. "Have you tried to murder a ghost Aomine?"

"But if a serial killer comes at you in a castle he can follow you and kill you!" Midorima exclaimed, getting flustered at being in the minority. "It makes more sense to be scared of serial killers than ghosts."

"But what if you're being chased by both?" Murasakibara asked nonchalantly.

Imayoshi tried to hide how amused he was by this entire situation, he didn't intend to get a full blown debate going but the way that the others were taking it so seriously was just too funny.

"What so both a ghost and a serial killer are coming at you with a knife?" Himuro clarified.

"Well I'd be more threatened by the serial killer because if he kills me then I become a ghost." Kise reasoned.

There was a brief silence before Takao burst out laughing. "What the fuck?"

"Then you just gotta deal with the ghost wielding a knife at you!"

"But you can't kill a ghost!" Aomine repeated. "Especially if you're _also_ a ghost."

"That's because _ghosts don't exist_!" Midorima sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Right so Kise doesn't exist. Perfect." Aomine grinned, ignoring the mock hurt on the blond's face.

There were a few more sighs and arguments repeated before Kagami returned - hand in hand with Kuroko - and presented Akashi with the shuriken. The heir nodded and said nothing, slightly putting out the ace but he shrugged and tugged Kuroko to the couch, he sat down next to Aomine and pulled the shadow onto his lap.

"So you didn't get scared then?" Aomine remarked as Takao launched into another explanation about how ghosts were worse than serial killers.

"No I didn't." Kagami sighed, wrapping and arm around Kuroko's waist. "It was easy."

"Why'd it take you so long then?"

"No reason. Well unless you really want to know? I can give you a demonstration if you insist." He smirked, raising an eyebrow at Aomine, wondering if he'd catch on.

Aomine thought about it, it didn't take genius to work out what Kagami was referring to, the question was whether he was sure enough of his own emotions to risk it. The advice from Kise echoed through his mind, he supposed there would only be one way to find out and obviously the shadow and the light had spoken about it so clearly they didn't have a problem with it. If Kagami was willing to put himself forward as a volunteer then who was he to say no?

"Later Bakagami. You think I'm an exhibitionist?"

"You give off the vibe of one."

"Shut the fuck up!"

His heart was beating a little harder, hands a little sweatier, chest a little tighter. Was he nervous? Well yeah. Was he scared that he'd fuck it up? A little. Was this his worst nightmare? Strangely enough, no. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I don't claim ownership of the story within this fic. It's a well-known creepypasta)


	7. Kiss me like it's do or die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this chapter man.  
> I spent so long rereading it, changing it, researching stuff...I really hope it's okay.

 

"So what you're saying is...you have no problem with him kissing me?" Aomine asked.

"Pretty much." Kagami replied.

Aomine rubbed the back of his neck, if he was confused before then he might as well declare himself completely lost now. It was three in the morning and he was in Kuroko and Kagami's room, he had managed to get locked out of his room - somehow although he had his suspicions -  and everyone else seemed more than willing to leave him out in the hallway.

It had started out with the Touou ace wanting to clarify what the fuck was going on, he hadn't heard of any healthy relationships where one person could just kiss whoever they please and still have their boyfriend to go back to afterwards.

The entire situation confused him but if listening to their explanation meant he could get some clarity of his own preferences then he was willing to hear them out.

"It's called a polyamorous relationship." Kuroko stated, shifting on the bed. "It's a bit more than 'we are both attracted to you'."

Aomine's head was hurting, probably from the lack of sleep but he was determined to try and understand what his friend was talking about, especially if it meant that he had the chance to be with Tetsu again.

"So...you both love each other and I'm what exactly?" He asked, sitting on the end of the double bed. "A bit on the side?"

Kagami laughed, folding his arms across his chest as he paced the room. "Daiki you really are oblivious aren't you? How have you not noticed that I'm into you?"

This was making Aomine's head hurt.

"Wait _you're_ interested in me?!" He asked, gesturing to Kagami.

Kuroko smiled as Kagami laughed. The shadow moved closer to Aomine, taking his hand and watching how the older male reacted to the news that his rival had a crush on him whilst dating his former team-mate.

"We love each other yeah, we're sure about that. We also have our own attraction to you."

"But you both...and me?"

Kuroko nodded. "Yeah. The three of us."

"So you want me to be...another boyfriend? Friend-with-benefits?" Aomine was still trying to grapple with how this could possibly work.

"Just be _you_." Kagami replied. "We'll all be on the same page."

"But I've...I don't even know if I'm gay." Aomine uttered, feeling his cheeks flush slightly and his hand become a little sweatier. "Surely that's more important."

The other two exchanged glances. "Well what do you wanna do about that?" Kuroko asked. "We won't think any less of you whatever you say."

Aomine swallowed, looking from Kuroko to Kagami and back again. He wasn't sure what to do, he wanted to be certain already but he didn't want to screw it up. That, and how they both just said they'd be willing to be more intimate with him if he wanted to. It was like he had just been given the keys to a sports car on the evening of his driving test that he wasn't sure if he'd pass.

"Okay...what would you guys do?"

Kuroko smiled, squeezing his hand reassuringly as he shuffled closer still, reaching up with his free hand to stroke Aomine's cheek.

"May I?" He murmured, gazing at Aomine with his bright blue eyes.

The other ace nodded, swallowing again as his former team-mate closed the gap between them. The shadow's lips met his, it was a tender kiss, Aomine actually forgot to breathe for a few seconds. Kuroko's nose brushed against his as he slowly began to pull back. Aomine let out a small whimper as he regarded the other boy.

"How was it?" Kagami asked as the silence settled, there was no trace of mockery in his voice, he was genuinely curious.

"I..." Aomine uttered, not able to really pinpoint his current emotion. He sighed, blinking slowly before closing the gap between him and Kuroko again, more confident and daring to cup the other's face as he parted his lips and sighed into the shadow's mouth.

Yes. Yes, he wanted this. He wanted both of them.

He smiled into the kiss, his heart racing as his thoughts were tossed aside and he let himself  enjoy this moment, how he felt a weight lift from his shoulders and his breathing relaxed as the doubts melted away from his mind.

 Kuroko's hands covered his as they parted again and gazed each other. Kagami's hand gently rested on his shoulder as the second ace joined them on the bed.

"You okay?" He gave a warm smile, ruby eyes pooling with calmness, there was also spark of concern.

"Yeah..." Aomine replied with a slight laugh.

"You need any more time to think about it? We don't mind." Kuroko murmured, pressing his forehead against Aomine's.

"I think I got it now..." He sighed, looking at Kagami with a raised eyebrow. "So what was this demonstration you were talking about?"

The red-head laughed, he glanced at Kuroko who nodded and rolled away from the two of them. Aomine was about to repeat his question when his lips were stolen by Kagami's, the rival ace was definitely more assertive compared to Kuroko but that was what drew Aomine to him in the first place.

With Kuroko it was tender and slow, but Kagami's lips were firmer and Aomine was breathless within a few seconds. He parted his lips without hesitation and gave the red-head full access, tongue dancing against the other's and hand coming up to run through the crimson hair. Kagami's conscience did kick in enough for him to stop himself taking things too quickly.

"...you're a bastard." Aomine panted with a smirk.

"You wanted the demonstration Daiki." Kagami chuckled. He glanced at the head of the bed where Kuroko had fallen asleep, the digital clock dictated it was nearly four. "You wanna stay here with us?"

Aomine considered it, he'd wake up later probably confused as hell but it was either here or the couch. He nodded, moving enough to strip off his shirt as Kagami did the same. Their attention turned to Kuroko, the small boy was so far under that he didn't stir as Kagami scooped him up in his arms.

"I'll hold him, you take his shirt off." The red-head whispered.

Aomine's hands shook as he slowly pulled the thin fabric up and over the shadow's form. The two aces settled in bed with Kuroko between them. Aomine was surprised at how easily Kagami had accepted him and also how he felt so at ease already in this slightly bizarre situation.

"You sure about this?" The Touou ace asked, trailing shaky fingers over Kuroko's bare shoulder. "Like...I don't wanna feel like I'm..." He couldn't verbalise his thoughts. He just wanted this to work. He just wanted to be happy.

Kagami smiled. "Hey, this will take some time to get used to. For it to work we need to be open with each other." He spoke softly so to not wake the slumbering boy between them. "There'll be times where one of us will get jealous but we need to trust each other and keep talking. Neither of us is above the other, Tetsu has strong feelings for both of us, I have strong feelings for both of you."

Aomine raised an eyebrow. "What do you see in me then?"

"What so I can pet your already inflated ego? I'm not saying."

"Fuck you." Aomine sighed, burying his face in Kuroko's hair, he had missed being so close to someone and now he had two people willing to let him into their personal lives; one best friend from middle school and the new light in his life, each with their own quirks that Aomine could get used to seeing more often.

Kagami pressed a kiss to Kuroko's forehead, catching Aomine's eye before leaning across and lightly kissing his lips.

"Goodnight Daiki." He whispered.

"Goodnight Taiga."

 

\---

 

Midorima woke up to find Takao already out of bed, it was still dark so he reckoned it was quite early, too early to be awake.

"Kazunari..." He sighed, rolling over and attracting the point guard's attention from where he was stood peering out the window into the early morning dimness wearing only his underwear.

"Shin-chan?" The other replied, glancing over his shoulder. "What is it?"

"Why are you up baka...come back to bed."

Takao smiled, shrugging and crawling back under the covers into Midorima's arms, pressing a kiss to the older boy's cheek as he settled down again.

"So why were you out of bed?"

"I was stiff and I wanted to stretch my legs slightly. Why?"

Midorima just buried his face in the raven hair of his lover, inhaling the familiar scent of vanilla that Takao's hair conditioner smelt of. The other giggled slightly and trailed his fingers from Midorima's jaw to his neck, feeling him relax at his touch.

"I like having you here when I wake up." The ace admitted.

"Aw shin-chan~"

"Sh-Shut up.."

"Why? No-one else is here to see how red you get."

The ace kissed the top of his head, declining to do anything else as he focused on getting more sleep. The point guard had other ideas, he pressed a kiss to the ace's neck, nipping playfully but careful not to add any more marks. Midorima sighed, trying not to let the younger male get the better of him so quickly.

"Shiiin-chaaan." He pined, peppering Midorima's jawline with light kisses. "I love you Shin-chan."

"I love you too Kazunari...now sleep."

"I'm not tired." The other pouted, wriggling around in his hold in order to try and get a rise out of him.

"It's too early."

"I'm hungry~"

Midorima growled slightly, he wasn't a morning person and Takao knew that. He was tempted to pin the other to the bed and fall asleep on top of him but he couldn't bring himself to move.

Takao smiled, capturing Midorima's lips quickly, giggling into his mouth as his hands slipped into the emerald strands. Noses bumped as the ace sloppily returned the kiss, too tired to care but too proud to leave his boyfriend hanging.

"Mm...shin-chan." He murmured, breaking away with a small giggle.

"You're the worst sometimes." The other replied, determined to claim some more sleep before the sun rose.

"But you can't get enough of me can you?"

"Shut up and sleep Kazunari."

The point guard was about to reply when a slow solid knock at the door made him pause. Midorima glared at the door and made no attempt to move, when the knocking continued he sighed heavily and released Takao so he could find out who the fuck was awake so early.

Takao opened the door after pulling on some sweatpants to find the ace of Yousen glaring at him.

"Mido-chin's birdie." He murmured.

"Yeah? What do you want?"

"...is Mido-chin awake?"

Takao thought for a second, leaning against the door frame as he smirked. "No, why?"

The giant narrowed his eyes. "I broke Muro-chin."

Takao had to bite his knuckle as he thought about what that statement meant. Casting a glance over his shoulder at the ace, who had since fallen asleep, he decided to find out for himself.

"Let me?"

Murasakibara stepped aside, the early morning glow casting the lodge in a faint blue hue as Takao moved into the other room. At least there was a light on in this room, Himuro was led face down on the bed, wrapped up in the thin bed sheets from the waist down and exposing the red lines criss-crossing over his back, he groaned when Takao placed a hand on his shoulder.

"On a scale of one to ten how screwed are you?" The point guard remarked.

"Fuck off Takao."

"That'll be a twelve then."

Himuro just buried his face further into the pillow.

"I'm guessing that you can't move?"

"Go and get Taiga..."

Takao shrugged, not thinking too much into it as he slipped out of the room and made his way downstairs. The clock proclaimed it was half five as he rounded the corner to open the door to the Seirin player's room.

He actually didn't expect to discover what he did. It took him a few seconds to continue into the room, he smiled at seeing the normally bickering rivals at peace for once, Kagami had a protective arm around Kuroko but the shadow was closer to Aomine under the sheets.

The point guard approached the red-head's side of the bed, shaking his shoulder slightly until he awoke with a grunt.

"Wha?"

"Himuro needs you apparently." Takao murmured. "Something about Murasakibara's dick breaking him."

"Fuck sake not again." Kagami grumbled, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. "Dude needs to calm the fuck down."

"Which one?" The other smirked.

"Both of them."

The point guard's gaze went back to the other two. "So...is this a thing now?"

"Yeah." Kagami replied. "He's still getting used to the idea so it's going to be a while before things are settled."

Takao shrugged. "As long as you're all happy dude."

"Man, my captain is gonna kick my ass when he finds out."

They shared a quiet laugh before the ace stood up and went on his way to find out what Himuro was complaining about this time. Takao lingered for a few seconds, watching the other two sleep soundly, the next match between the two teams would be one to watch for sure if this really was a thing between them.

 

\---

 

Akashi had heard people moving about but he didn't really feel like leaving his bed, he had heard enough to know that Takao was the one moving the most and that Murasakibara was now in the kitchen looking for food.

"Sei..." Furihata sighed as he rolled over against the heir's chest.

"Hm?" He replied, fingers trailing down the smaller boy's side.

"What time is it?"

"Too god damn early."

"Are they awake already?"

Akashi nodded, pressing lips to his lover's forehead. He hoped Naoki would show up soon so that some kind of order would resume, until then he listened to the sounds of cupboards opening and closing in the kitchen before an eerie silence fell.

"That's not good." He uttered, Furihata had fallen asleep again and didn't show any sign of waking. He strained to hear any other sounds of life before sighing heavily, he'd have to go and check on the idiots he called friends.

He shrugged on his high school jacket, not caring about appearance for once as he  made his way downstairs. Murasakibara had made a mess of the kitchen, it seemed like he had been baking something but he was no longer there. The heir narrowed his eyes as he spotted the open door at the end of the hall.

Kagami was the first one he saw when he stood in the doorway, Himuro was groaning into the pillow as the red-head lectured Murasakibara on something - Akashi didn't care to know the specifics - whilst Takao tried not to burst into laughter.

"Oh, Akashi." Kagami uttered, catching the heir's eye. "We didn't wake you did we?"

A brief spark of orange answered that question. "I'm just wondering what's got you all up at six in the morning."

No-one answered straight away. "Well Himuro got ploughed and now he can't move." Takao replied, gaining a glare from Kagami and a nonchalant shrug from the Yousen ace.

"I see."

"And then this guy decided to go and make pancakes." Kagami continued. "Something about a peace offering but Tatsuya's too out of it to care."

"That would explain why my kitchen is a mess."

"Sorry Aka-chin..."

The heir shook his head and smiled slightly. "Okay. Leave it to me, Takao go back to bed, Kagami go and get a head start on breakfast and you--" He looked up at Murasakibara. "--you're going to learn the art of after-care."

"I already know Aka-chin." The other pouted, not liking how his former captain assumed that just because he was big and sometimes rough that he didn't care about his lover.

"Well clearly you need more practice." Akashi replied, rolling up the sleeves of his jacket. "First go and get me a bowl of warm water."

If Himuro had any objection to this, it was lost in the feathers of the pillow.

 

\---

 

Naoki knew something was off when he entered the lodge. It was seven in the morning and there were at least three teenagers awake before the sun had properly risen. He thought the apocalypse had come early.

Kagami gave him an account of what had happened as he whisked pancake batter in a bowl, having cleaned up most of Murasakibara's mess already and kept his to a minimum. The sounds coming from the bedroom down the hall were concerning at first but Akashi's calm voice had persuaded them both to not bother him - even when Himuro started swearing in English.

"So have you and Kuroko spoken to Aomine yet?" The butler asked, his attire for today was more casual; blue jeans and a red shirt covered by a black hooded jacket, he didn't feel that Akashi really cared about his appearance anymore.

"Yeah actually." Kagami replied with a smile. "He's agreed to give it a go. I told him it'll take some time to get settled but we'll work on it. He's still asleep with Tetsuya right now."

Naoki smiled back, cracking some more eggs and separating the yolks out. "Good to hear. Anything else happen?"

"Don't think so. I know that hardly anyone's gotten more than four hours of sleep so I think today will be a lot quieter."

At that remark Naoki had an idea, it involved candles and darkness. Looking at the weather outside, wouldn't be too hard to achieve; the fog had rolled in twenty minutes ago and the sun was barely peeking through the grey clouds in the sky. Kise was the next one to grace everyone with his presence.

"Why is everyone being so loud?" He complained, yawning as he paced into the kitchen area, shirt falling off one shoulder as he stretched.

"Because Tatsuya couldn't say no loud enough." Kagami replied. "All jokes aside, Akashi's teaching the giant about after-care _apparently_."

Kise laughed. "Where'd he learn about it though?"

"This is Akashi we're talking about, he probably researched it all as soon as he started dating Furi."

"Actually he didn't know anything about it." A voice from above startled the two aces, Furihata quietly made his way downstairs and smiled at the two of them. "I had to teach him."

"You...taught _him_..."

Furihata shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Sei doesn't know everything, he just learns quickly and without argument so it seems like he knows everything."

Naoki cleared his throat loudly, signalling an end to that conversation as Akashi loudly opened the door and closed it again. He entered the silent kitchen wiping his hands with a towel and regarded everyone with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" He asked.

Furihata wrapped his arms around the heir's waist and kissed his cheek. "Nothing Sei."

Kise and Kagami exchanged glances before nodding. The two of them quickly became invested in finishing breakfast before the red-head could interrogate them further.

 


	8. "Now you've done it"

Murasakibara didn't appreciate being made out to not take care of his lover, as soon as Akashi left he pressed slow soft kisses to Himuro's back and neck. He hummed as the other boy sighed and peered over his shoulder at him.

"I'm sorry Muro-chin..." He repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. "I don't want to hurt you."

Himuro smiled, gesturing for the younger boy to lay down next to him. A delicate hand reached to stroke the lavender strands away from the angled cheekbones that were normally obscured.

"I know." He murmured. "We make mistakes Atsushi."

"But I hurt you, the others think..."

"Takao was probably tired and Taiga was the one who I confided in the first - and only time - you _accidentally_ hurt me so he won't think anything more of it."

"But Aka-chin..."

"Probably thought he was helping, don't think about it." Himuro gently rolled onto his side, fighting the urge to wince.

The pain wasn't easy to ignore but he had played his part in causing it so he wasn't holding it against his boyfriend. Besides, he knew that Murasakibara didn't ever want to hurt him and was very careful most of the time. There were just a few times - in the heat of the moment - where things would get a little rough, Himuro didn't mind it, he wasn't made of china so what was the big deal?

"I'll talk to them, don't worry about it."

Murasakibara didn't doubt his lover, he just felt guilty and wanted to make things right again. He strained to think of something that could possibly make up for all the physical pain.

"It's Muro-chin's birthday tomorrow." He acknowledged, hand ghosting over the other's as it rested on his cheek.

"Yeah, I'm sure Taiga remembers."

"Do the others know?"

Himuro shook his head. "I don't wanna make a big deal out of it. It's just my eighteenth and this week is about Halloween anyway."

The ace pouted. "But Muro-chin should have birthday cake and be happy..."

The shooting guard laughed. "Okay...if you feel that bad about all of this--" He sighed, edging closer to the other. "I don't want a massive party or anything, understand? Just eating cake with you would be more than good enough for me."

A smile graced the ace's face, he gazed into Himuro's eyes as he nodded. He was already thinking about the cake, not in the usual way of wanting to eat it but at how he was going to bake one for his lover. To not only make up for hurting him, also to see the gentle smile that melted his heart a little more each time he saw it.

"Muro-chin will have a good birthday." He whispered, gingerly pressing his lips against the other's, careful not to be too firm or rough. The other male smiled into the kiss, sighing lightly as they parted.

They led like that for a while, trading feather-light kisses and caressing each other's faces. A knock at the door spurred the ace to sigh heavily and leave the bed. Midorima raised an eyebrow at him and held up a hand in greeting.

"Kagami says breakfast is nearly ready if you two are joining us."

"Your birdie was rude."

"Pardon?" The Shuutoku ace narrowed his eyes.

The other explained to him how Takao had made fun of Himuro during the early hours of the morning and how he seemed very sure of himself. Admittedly the older male didn't really find it hard to believe but he nodded and made a mental note to remind Takao the clauses of their last agreement.

He sighed, adjusting his glasses as he told Murasakibara he'd handle it before leaving the two of them to sort themselves out. He strode back towards kitchen where Kagami and Kise had thrown themselves into helping Naoki make breakfast, Takao smiled and outstretched his arms expecting a hug.

The ace accepted it, the mental note sticking to the forefront of his thoughts.

"You're in trouble." He whispered.

"Why Shin-chan?"

"Himuro?"

The point guard shrugged. "What about him?"

"Don't go around thinking you're above others. It'll end badly for you, even if I'm the one who has to end it."

Takao was slightly confused at the remark, wondering what his lover meant about him thinking he was above others before shrugging it off.

Kasamatsu had inadvertently heard the entire exchange, he didn't want to know what kind of fuckery had occurred that morning when he was peacefully asleep with Kise. A breath on the back of his neck startled him like a cat, he spun around to come face-to-face with Imayoshi who simply grinned.

"Still skittish Yukio?"

"Fuck you." Kasamatsu glared, moving to put some distance between him and the demon captain.

"No thanks, I'm more of a giver."

The Kaijou ex-captain looked for a blunt object to hit the other with but only found a wooden spoon, which was confiscated by Naoki with a remark about how 'a knife would be more effective'.

"Okay food's ready." Kagami announced. "Quit trying to kill each other."

"What about Kurokocchi and Aominecchi?" Kise asked as he placed the large bowl of rice in the centre of the table.

Kagami shook his head. "Leave them be. It took a while to explain everything and they're probably tired."

Everyone seemed to buy that explanation, Kagami actually wanted to leave the two former team-mates alone for a while, he trusted that Kuroko would be able to deal with any issues that Aomine had.

Issues like Aomine waking up to find Kuroko watching him with a smile that could melt butter, he never understood that saying but the sight of cyan eyes gazing at him and the curve of soft lips sent his heart into a frenzy.

"...morning Daiki." The shadow whispered.

Aomine blinked, yes it was daylight outside but he was far more interested in the fact he was in bed with Kuroko.

"M-Morning Tetsu."

He was unsure what to do, was he supposed to kiss him? Get up and shower immediately? Where was Kagami? Why couldn't he hear Kise pestering Kasamatsu from down the hallway?

"Stop thinking about it Daiki."

Lips pressed against his cheek, the Touou ace was slightly startled but tenderly mimicked the other's actions. He gently mouthed at the smaller boy's jawline, still slightly unsure of how to go about this.

He trusted his gut, finding Kuroko's hand and linking their fingers together as he kissed the other boy with more confidence before pulling away slowly.

"...you're still sure about this Tetsu?" He asked, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, fingers still linked together.

"Yes." The other replied, rubbing his thumb over the back of Aomine's hand. "And so is Taiga."

The ace smirked. "Well...how does this all work then? Does he have more claim to you than me or what?"

The other shook his head. "We're all on the same level. As long as consent is given then anything goes."

"So if I wanted to take you back to mine and have you all to myself then I could?"

"As long as it didn't make Taiga feel uncomfortable."

"And if he wanted to take me home?"

"Same."

"...and then both of you?"

"If we all agreed on it, then yeah."

Aomine was warming up to the idea. It would still take some getting used to and Imayoshi was never going to let him hear the end of it, when Momoi found out it was going to be hell on earth for him - not just because it's Kagami but she'd probably remark about him 'stealing' Tetsu from her, regardless of the fact that Kuroko was obviously with Kagami.

"You okay with that?"

Aomine nodded, he was more than okay with that. If he got to be with both of them then that was fine by him. He did have to admit that Kagami was very pleasing to look at and was probably one of the only guys he'd confess to finding attractive and Kuroko was more of an emotional connection, not that he didn't find the smaller boy visually appeasing but he still felt somewhat weird thinking about his middle-school friend like that.

Either way, Aomine had landed the jackpot and he wasn't about to let it slip away.

 

\---

 

Naoki had managed to get everyone to sit downstairs, a combination of half the group being sleep-deprived and the promise of hot chocolate made for easy persuasion.

"So this is just like a slumber party?" Kise asked as yet another blanket was brought down from upstairs.

All the couches had been claimed and everyone had collected a blanket from their rooms along with as many pillows as they could find, forming a nest-like structure between the three couches.

Akashi nodded, picking up the remote for the wall-mounted TV and flicking through channels to see if he could find something worth watching. Naoki handed the last blanket to Himuro and smiled at the group, he started setting up various candles around the room to give it a warm feeling - added to by the embers in the fireplace.

"Why are we doing this again?" Imayoshi asked, he had been stuck on the same couch as the Seirin aces and Aomine, he didn't know why everyone was so tired but he was already thinking about how to exploit it for his own amusement.

"Because nothing can get broken, no-one will get yelled at and maybe we can actually act somewhat mature for once." Midorima replied. Everyone had taken note of how tense the ace seemed that morning, Takao wondered if it was to do with getting woken up early by Murasakibara but when he tried to snuggle up to the other and wasn't accepted right away, he doubted himself.

"Plus we're all tired." Aomine sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"You weren't up at half five this morning." Takao pouted.

"You didn't have to get up." Kagami fired back.

"Alright cut it out." Kasamatsu stated, watching Akashi skipping through the TV guide. "What are we watching then?"

The heir shrugged. "There's nothing good on so I'm thinking of going to Netflix."

"Oh let me pick! I know a good film we can watch." Kise reached out across the space as an indication that Akashi should throw the remote to him.

"Please don't pick something shit otherwise I _will_ throw a pillow at your head." Aomine sighed.

The blond caught the remote with ease, sticking out his tongue at the bluenette as he pressed a few buttons. Kasamatsu leaned his head on the ace's shoulder and watched what he was typing into search bar, hoping to hell it wasn't going to be a horror movie.

"We're not watching this shit." Kagami snapped, raising one arm in exclamation as his other was wrapped around Kuroko's shoulders. "No."

"Kaga-chin doesn't like ghosts." Murasakibara observed, resting his chin on Himuro's head.

"We know this." Akashi smirked.

"So we're _not_ watching paranormal activity." Kagami stated through gritted teeth.

"I think we should." Aomine remarked, looking at the other ace and gaining a glare in response.

"Take a vote on it." Naoki suggested from the stairs.

So they did, Akashi governed it, Kagami was out voted with only Furihata siding with him. The heir remained indifferent, he wrapped an arm around his lover's waist and offered small whispers of comfort as Kise started the movie.

 

\---

 

Naoki's candles flickered in the dimness, the drapes had been closed over all the windows just to add to the atmosphere in the basement. Kagami was trying not to show how the cheap theatrics of the film were getting the best of him.

"So who next?" Kise asked, holding the remote in the air as he lay against Kasamatsu's chest. "Midorimacchi?"

"Fine." The other ace leaned over and took the remote. "Any suggestions?"

"The Ring." Takao replied immediately.

"Fuck that." Imayoshi sighed. "Go for something more recent."

"Everyone knows that the classics are better." Himuro challenged. "Besides, most of the recent ones are crap."

A small argument broke out, only ending when Naoki appeared with a tray of hot drinks. He sighed and took the remote from Midorima so that it wouldn't get thrown at someone's head.

"So how are you guys doing?" He asked, handing out mugs of hot chocolate.

"Decide on a movie for us." Akashi demanded, accepting the beverage from the butler.

The older male smirked, emptying the tray before pausing to think of a suitable film, he thought about whether he wanted to scare them or screw with their minds. Considering the prank that had been played on Kasamatsu and how sleep deprived everyone was he decided to attempt to scare them.

"Got one. It's an American one okay?"

"Great, so Taiga won't be able to pretend he doesn't know what's going on." Aomine remarked.

"Shut up before I shut you up." The other ace hissed over Kuroko's head.

"Girls please." Imayoshi sighed.

"But dad--"

"Oh my god I did not just hear you refer to your former captain as _dad_." Midorima groaned, rubbing his forehead as Takao hooted with laughter.

"Didn't know you thought about me like that Aomine." The demon captain smirked. "I thought you only had eyes for these two."

The ace said nothing, he scowled at the older male as the TV screen flickered. Naoki tossed the remote into Himuro's lap and swiftly left the basement. Everyone fell silent, watching the first five minutes without any loud-mouthed remarks or sarcastic comments.

"Ah fuck no." Kagami uttered when he recognised the name.

"Scared?" Kuroko whispered, the sly smile on his face bathed in the glow of the TV as the words stood out on screen.

"The Conjuring...based on a true story huh."

"They always say that." Midorima remarked. "To get idiots like you to believe it's real."

Kasamatsu sighed heavily and was about to bark for Midorima to shut up when Akashi put a hand up to silence everyone.

"Let's just watch the film and argue afterwards." He stated.

 

\---

 

"Fuck no, fuck you, I'm out." Kagami muttered, trying to leave the couch but Kuroko had moved onto his lap and was refusing to move.

"Calm the fuck down bro." Himuro chuckled. "It's just a movie."

The credits began to roll, the film had ended on a happy note but the Seirin ace was so done with the idea of ghosts that he wanted out.

"Hey we should play that clap and hide game." Kise suggested, he was a little creeped out but as Midorima had said; it wasn't a true story so he blew it off easily.

"No." Kasamatsu immediately shut the idea down. "No way."

"Come on~"

"What could possibly go wrong?" Takao added, nudging Furihata to try and gain some support for the idea.

"Oh I don't know--" Kagami answered. "How about everything?"

"You don't actually believe in ghosts right?"

"We had this conversation already Takao..." Kasamatsu sighed.

"Yeah Kise doesn't exist." Aomine helpfully reminded everyone.

"Hey that was mean Aominecchi!"

"It was him who said that ghosts don't exist!" The ace pointed at Midorima accusingly.

"That's because ghosts don't exist!"

Himuro snorted, he always found it amusing when the miracles bickered like this, mainly because Murasakibara hardly ever got involved unless it was about food. The gentle hand of the giant rested on his waist, mindlessly rubbing circles into the heated skin as the debate over Kise's existence continued.

The afternoon went on in a similar fashion, the movies degraded in quality but that only made Kagami's paranoia increase, especially as he was sat next to Imayoshi who would make small remarks about how inefficient the methods of murder were.

By the time the sun set, not that anyone knew because the drapes were closed, the ace was ready to crawl into bed and never leave again

He really didn't need Furihata to question Akashi about whether the lodge was haunted.

"No? Why would it be?" The heir replied, a little amused.

"I dunno. I get an uneasy feeling."

"That's called Imayoshi being here." Aomine remarked. "He has that effect on people."

"Do not." The older male replied. "You're all paranoid. There's nothing to suggest that this place is haunted..."

"No we just have two psychopaths here instead." Kise added.

"Be careful who you're calling a psychopath Ryouta..."

The last three movies combined didn't terrify the blond more than the tone of his former-captain's voice when his eye turned orange.

"Now you've done it baka." Midorima sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the greatest of chapters I've written but I just couldn't get it all to fit and it's 3:30am right now so I'm just gonna upload this and see what you guys think, I may rewrite some of it at a later date.  
> (It's slightly shorter because the next one will probably end up being longer than normal)


	9. "Shut up and let me blindfold you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (It's Thursday somewhere right?)
> 
> Anyway, took a tad longer than expected due to me getting distracted by cake and my friends deciding to kidnap me for a night of drunken shenanigans...yeah we'll go with that.  
> It's also slightly longer due to the last chapter being slightly short and a bit sloppy (again I apologise for that).
> 
> It's weird to think the next chapter will be the last one...I don't like things ending...(still sobbing over the season 3's ending fyi)
> 
> So yeah! Chapter 9. That's a thing.

 

Furihata was awoken, not by a loud crash of plates from downstairs - although that was part of it - but by gentle lips pressing against his neck. He pressed back into Akashi's hold, savouring the feeling of being held so tenderly.

"What time is it?" He whispered.

"Nearly ten." The calm voice replied, nuzzling his neck and tickling the sensitive skin with his fringe.

"What's going on downstairs?"

"I don't know." The other murmured. "And I don't care right now."

The red-head moved to cage Furihata against the bed, kissing the hollow of his neck with a small moan. The brunette carded his hands through crimson strands as he sighed, Akashi smiled as he felt the smaller boy melt from his actions.

"Sei..."

"Hm?"

"I love you Sei."

"I love you too Kouki."

A loud bang from the kitchen elicited a groan from the heir. He rolled away from his lover and paced to the door, bare back illuminated by the soft glow of daylight that filtered through the parted drapes. Furihata watched him open the door and walk out to the landing, peering over the railing at the lounge below.

"What are you doing?" He barked. "And why is there a plate on the floor?"

Someone shouted a response but Furihata didn't hear the exact words, his eyes gazed at the perfection that was Akashi; the flawless smooth skin of his back, the flexing arms muscles as he leaned on the polished wood, the curve of his ass in the sweatpants he wore to bed...

"Well don't break anything." Akashi's voice broke his train of thought. "And help Naoki clean up afterwards if you're gonna be doing that."

He returned, closing the door loudly to make a point, crawling on top of the smaller boy and capturing his lips in one movement. A hand brushed against Furihata's cheek, thumb stroking his jaw as lips parted and tongues darted against each other.

The brunette splayed his hands against the other's chest, pushing his lover back slightly. "Wha-What are they doing?"

"Baking again, apparently it's Himuro's birthday. They're making a mess already."

He couldn't help but laugh. Akashi smiled slightly, hearing his lover laugh made him feel warm inside, like everything was right in the world and nothing else was important.

"So are we gonna help or what?"

Akashi snorted, burying his face in the crook of Furihata's neck. "I'm going to at least shower first, you could help me with that if you want."

The blush that spread across the smaller boy's cheeks rivalled the captain's hair colour. His stuttering was cut short by a soft kiss, feeling himself relax once more in the heir's hold before being tugged out of bed and towards the bathroom.

 

\---

 

"Kise-chin that's too much flour." Murasakibara stated, watching the blond nearly spill an entire bag into a bowl.

"Eh? But you told me to--"

Kasamatsu took the flour away and leaned across the counter to peer at the instructions that had been loaded up on someone's phone. Murasakibara turned his attention back to the stove where Takao was supervising the pan of slowly melting butter, the giant wrinkled his nose before nodding for him to add the sugar.

Midorima flat out refused to get involved, he claimed it was a bad day for Cancers so he had tried to stay in his room again, however with Kagami busy distracting Himuro someone had to stick around to help Naoki keep the peace. He sat at the dining table with the chess board - his lucky item for the day.

Kuroko was performing his disappearing act, only to reappear at the most inconvenient times - like when Aomine was trying to separate egg yolks out and got startled by his lover so much that the eggs nearly ended up on the floor.

"Birdie, you need to add the syrup." Murasakibara murmured over his shoulder as he reached for the eggs. "Mine-chin can you prepare the tin?"

Aomine blinked at him before Imayoshi brandished the loaf tin from the other side of the kitchen. "Uh yeah sure. I can do that." He smirked, ignoring the raised eyebrow from his former captain.

As far as baking went, things were going okay. Everyone seemed capable of following Murasakibara's instructions, even if Kise was too busy dancing to the radio songs to hear them the first time round.

The Yousen ace was focused, he rarely got so worked up about something, food was one of his triggers as was Himuro but this was something different. He wanted to give his boyfriend the best birthday cake he could, pouring all his knowledge of baking into one product, he didn't care about entertaining the others, he didn't even intend to have them help in the first place. It had only happened like this because Kagami had found him looking through cabinets for ingredients and offered to help and it had only taken a few minutes for the others to get in on it, with a lack of other things to do and the last baking session shenanigans still in their minds, they were all too eager to help.

"Let me." Takao stated, taking the egg whites from Murasakibara and pouring them into the pan, whisking the mixture as it was heated.

Naoki was impressed, he had started on the buttercream already with Kuroko's help whilst watching the others co-operate in relative peace. Kise had gotten his hands on the cinnamon and was trying to convince Aomine to do the challenge, the bluenette nearly knocked the jar from his friend's hand as he exclaimed that a certain someone - glaring at Imayoshi - had already forced him to do it and that he was never going to do it again.

"Hey, so according to this we need a blowtorch." Kasamatsu stated over Aomine's protests. "No offence but I don't trust any of you with it."

"What could possibly go wrong?" Midorima remarked from the chess board.

"Shin-chan don't be mean!" Takao called back.

Naoki sighed, handing the bowl of icing to Kuroko and approaching the Kaijou ex-captain. "I'll do it, I'm probably more experienced at it."

"No." Murasakibara uttered, pouring mixture into the greased tin. "I'll do it."

No-one dared question the ace, the radio droned on and the number of things to do had decreased enough for the kitchen to become less busy. Imayoshi had settled down to play Midorima at chess, Aomine had gone to find Kagami and Himuro, Kise was still trying to convince _someone_ to do the cinnamon challenge and Kasamatsu was trying to get him to stop already.

Takao and Kuroko were the only ones who stuck around to help the ace with the icing and the buttercream. At first none of them spoke, the two smaller boys just watched the giant's hands combine the dry ingredients together with ease and then whisk them for good measure.

"I'm sorry." Takao stated, looking at the violet eyes. "For what I said yesterday...I was kinda out of line."

Murasakibara smiled slightly. "It's okay birdie." He uttered, setting the whisk aside and covering the bowl with some saran wrap to keep the buttercream safe from spillages before moving on to the icing. "Muro-chin's not mad."

"But are you?"

The giant shook his head, lavender strands of hair covering his eyes. "No."

Kuroko smiled, knowing that tone as the one his former team-mate used when he was relaxed. He gave Takao a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he made his way to the sink where the pile of dirty bowls was growing, he didn't mind cleaning up after his friends and Akashi had ordered them to help Naoki anyway.

 

\---

 

The cake that came out of the oven was expertly sliced into three layers, Takao and Kise watched Murasakibara's steady hands spread buttercream on top of the first layer, Kasamatsu had been drafted in to continue making the icing whilst Imayoshi helped Kuroko put away the clean dishes. Naoki had declared that he was going to the store so he could restock the bar downstairs ahead of the festivities the next night so the group were on their own again.

"Never realised you were so good at baking." Takao uttered as the second section was carefully lowered onto the buttercream and then covered too.

"Murasakirbaracchi likes making desserts." Kise replied. "He rarely puts in the effort out in public though."

"Why? You're so good! You should become a chef."

The Yousen ace tried to ignore the comment, he didn't like thinking about the future that much. He applied the final section to the cake before looking expectantly at Kasamatsu. The ex-captain handed him the bowl without a word and simply stood back to watch the golden brown cake get covered in milky white icing.

No-one dared say anything, no-one had anything _to_ say, they were all marvelling at the precision that the ace showed as he first coated the entire cake before rummaging around in the cabinets for a few seconds. He narrowed his eyes as he found what he wanted, returning to the cake and warming up the writing icing in his fingers before delicately spelling out ' _Happy birthday Muro-chin_ ' in lilac kanji characters.

With the message written he picked up the piping bag he had prepared whilst waiting for the cake to bake and pipped spikes of meringue around the kanji all over the top of the cake. His tongue peeked out from between his lips as he focused on not ruining all the effort gone into this creation.

It looked to be done, a pure white cake ready to be chilled before being served but as Kasamatsu had pointed out; they needed a blowtorch. Even the Akashi family wasn't one to have a blowtorch just lying around so the ace improvised, using an oven lighter instead to lightly toast some of the meringue on top of the cake, not too much to brown it completely but enough to make it look a little more appealing.

He set the lighter down and rubbed his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand, admiring the product that sat before him. The product of nearly two hours in the kitchen with his old team-mates and friends, the cake that he made for Himuro.

"It needs to chill now." He stated. "And Aka-chin wants us to clean up."

"Don't worry about it." The calm voice came from the stairs, the heir walked into the kitchen, hair still damp from the shower but he was dressed. "So how did it turn out?"

Murasakibara gestured to the creation, worrying his bottom lip as his ex-captain gazed at the cake. If he approved then Himuro no doubt would too.

"Nice." Was the immediate response. "I forgot that you were so good at baking." He smiled. "He'll love it."

With a little bit of rearranging, the cake sat in the fridge awaiting its time to be revealed. Akashi told them to leave the clean up to him and Furihata, as they hadn't helped with the baking, and sent the others downstairs to unwind some more.

Midorima was still sat at the chess board in the dining area, he had commended Murasakibara's efforts before returning to his game. When Akashi told everyone else to effectively go away the ace remained, knowing that eventually he'd get a visit from a certain someone.

"Shin-chan?"

"Yeah Takao?"

"Can I ask you something?"

The ace leaned back in the chair, adjusting his glasses as he looked at the point guard. "What?"

"I-I apologised to Murasakibara." He murmured. "About what I said to--"

"Good."

Takao swallowed, not quite sure what to make of his boyfriend's change in attitude. "Did I upset you?"

"No."

"Then why are you being so...distant?"

Midorima sighed, he knew that Takao didn't understand. Since Aomine effectively 'came out' the entire lodge seemed to be filled with lovesick fools and it somewhat irked him, even Akashi had loosened up enough to publicly display his affections.

"Someone's got to keep their head screwed on around here."

"Is this really about that Shin-chan? We're on vacation, we don't have to act 'proper' around each other. They're our friends!"

"We don't have to act like bitches in heat though."

That stung. Takao's eyes widened slightly before his fists clenched at his sides. "I see."

Midorima realised how his words effected the other. He also noticed Akashi's questioning gaze from the kitchen but that was actually the least of his problems. He loved Takao but he hated public displays of affection. It was something that the two of them had argued about before and he hated himself a little bit every time it came up.

"Takao I'm--"

"No, it's okay Shin-chan." The point guard smiled sympathetically. "I get it."

He moved to make way for the stairs down to the basement, he understood that his boyfriend was a difficult person to love sometimes but there was nothing he could do to change the quirks, he wouldn't want to anyway because they were the very reason he fell in love with him.

A hand closing around his followed by the drag of a chair stopped him. He was tugged into the ace's hold, face burying in the shoulder of the shooter as he tried to process what was going on. Taped fingers danced up and down his back as warm breath brushed over his ear.

"I'm sorry." Midorima whispered. "I love you Kazunari."

Takao was both confused and relieved. "I-I love you too Shin-chan."

Akashi smiled at the two of them. He never understood why Midorima didn't like showing his feelings in public, Takao wasn't the worst person he could be seen with and if anything they always appeared more like best friends than lovers most of the time anyway.

Furihata paid no mind to it, he had enough on his plate trying to work out how Akashi's mind worked let alone the rest of the miracles. He couldn't resist smiling though as the Shuutoku players parted and tried to remain calm and collected, the blush on Takao's face showing his flusteredness as Midorima cleared his throat loudly.

 

\--- 

 

"Taiga what is the meaning of this?"

"Shut up and let me blindfold you."

"Dude save that for when you're fucking Aomi--"

Kagami tightened the scarf around Himuro's head, blocking out his sight, with a harsh tug. "Shut it bro."

They were in the basement, the others had left one by one until it was only the two of them left. The evening was drawing in slowly when Kagami received a text from Kuroko telling him that everything was ready. It had been hard enough to keep his brother from the kitchen all afternoon, especially when Murasakibara left mumbling about food which reminded Himuro that he hadn't eaten anything.

Nevertheless, Kagami had managed it, he didn't even know what was being done upstairs but he was just told to keep Himuro away until he was told otherwise. So with the text received, he grabbed Midorima's scarf and blindfolded his friend with ease.

"I swear if you're about to try and--"

"Shut up Tatsuya, geez. You'll get to see when I tell you that you can." He sighed, manhandling the older boy up the stairs with as much care as a puppy dragging an oversized newspaper through a letterbox.

After much cursing in English and a few stubbed toes, the two of them were in the dimly lit lounge and dining area, the only lights coming from the kitchen lights and the candles on the cake crafted by Murasakibara that lunchtime.

Kagami nodded in approval before moving his brother to the table and stepping away to make way for the Yousen ace. Large hands caressed the shooting guard's shoulders as he slowly untied the blindfold, pressing a kiss to the top of his head as the scarf fell away.

Himuro honestly expected something to have been organised, he knew that keeping his birthday quiet from the group would be impossible but the sight of the cake in front of him took him by surprise still.

"Happy birthday Muro-chin." Murasakibara whispered as the flames danced on the candles.

"You made this...for me?" Himuro asked, his usual poker face breaking into a smile as he craned his neck so he could look at his lover.

"They helped..." The ace murmured. "But yeah."

"You gonna blow the candles out or what?" Aomine remarked, arm wrapping around Kagami's waist and getting a raised eyebrow in response.

Himuro smiled and nodded, making sure to hold the ring that hung around his neck out of the way as he leaned forward and blew the candles out. Kise's phone erupted with the sound of camera clicks, much to Kasamatsu's irritation but no-one else cared as a knife was bought to the table and the first slice was cut, perfect layers of buttercream and sponge cake graced the china plates and served by Naoki.

Everyone agreed that Murasakibara should become a dessert chef of sorts, Himuro stayed silent on the matter, subtly pressing a kiss to the ace's cheek whilst the other's carried the conversation on.

"Thank-you Atsushi." He whispered.

"Did Muro-chin have a good birthday?"

The older boy smiled. "Yeah, I spent most of it with my brother and then my boyfriend made me the best cake I've ever had with the help of our friends. It's been more than a good birthday."

Murasakibara hummed, finishing off his third slice before smiling. "Good. I only want the best for my Muro-chin."

The shooting guard blushed at the idea of him being called 'my Muro-chin', he tugged his fringe down as he buried his face in the other's neck.

"Hey Murasakibara." Aomine called. "You should make Kise's wedding cake."

"Wedding cake? What?" Kasamatsu spluttered.

"Aominecchi!" Kise hissed, blushing an even deeper shade of red than Himuro. "Shut up."

Kagami couldn't help but laugh, Kuroko tried so hard to not join in but even Imayoshi was chuckling.

"Ryouta?" Kasamatsu raised an eyebrow, the use of the blond's first name only caused Kagami to laugh harder.

"Y-Yes Yukio?" Kise replied, trying to look anywhere but his boyfriend.

"...you're hopeless."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!"

Akashi and Midorima exchanged amused glances as Kise tried to get the ex-captain to elaborate, taking a few seconds to call Aomine all the different insults in the book in between failed attempts.

Naoki shook his head with a smile and told the group that the bar was restocked so they could have drinks to celebrate Himuro's birthday as long as no-one got stupidly drunk. It was no surprise that they all ended up in the basement trying to work out what to get the butler to mix up, having all learnt their lessons from the last time they trusted anyone else with it.

"You should totally have sex on the beach." Kagami whispered to Aomine.

"A sex on the _what_?" The other ace exclaimed a little _too_ loudly.

Kuroko smiled and simply asked for a vanilla shake, he wasn't letting any alcohol enter his system that night. Imayoshi was taking an interest in watching the butler mix up all sorts of concoctions as they were ordered and found himself dwelling more at the bar than on the overcrowded couches.

Aomine had declined Kagami's offer and told Naoki to mix him the strongest drink he could. In hindsight he probably should've listened to Kagami just that one time. The red-head looked more appealing in the fuzzy vision that accompanied the warm feeling in his chest. Kise had found a karaoke channel on the TV so that was the night's entertainment sorted, it also meant most of the group were distracted enough to not notice how close the two aces were sitting.

As he was given another drink he slipped a hand up the back of Kagami's shirt, fingers stroking the heated skin of his lower back..

Someone had convinced Takao to attempt to sing-a-long to Avril Lavinge, in some ways it was a good idea as it was loud enough to cover up the small noise of surprise that escaped Kagami's lips when Aomine leaned closer and caught his ear lobe between his teeth,

"You're so drunk aren't you Daiki?" The red-head whispered, trying to fight off a shit-eating grin.

"Nah...just tipsy." The other replied.

"You should stop before things get out of hand..." The daring look in his eyes told a different story.

"I think you'd like it anyway."

"Get a room you two." Naoki remarked as he collected the empty glasses from the coffee table. "Preferably now whilst no-one will be able to hear you."

Aomine was more than happy with Kagami tugging him off the couch, Kuroko shook his head as he chuckled, watching the two of them disappear into the gloomy hallway without a care in the world.

Kagami rarely let himself be influenced by alcohol, the nights with Alex and Himuro had been his baptism of fire but they had also made him aware of where his limit was. He pressed his once-rival-now-lover against the closed door of their room, mouth sucking a mark onto Aomine's neck and pulling moans from the other male with ease.

The bluenette was already lost to the feeling of having Kagami to himself like this, it was a foreign situation but he was more than okay with it. His hands found the other's hips, pushing up the shirt that got in the way of the smooth skin and toned torso that he had wanted to see for so long.

"Easy tiger." Kagami teased, claiming Aomine's hands and linking their fingers together. "We don't have to rush now."

Aomine was _very_ okay with that statement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might have some smut. I dunno yet, mainly because I don't know which pairing it would be between so that's a small hurdle.
> 
> It also depends if my friends decide we're going to skype all day on Saturday and get hideously drunk (because apparently I write good smut when I'm drunk).


	10. Wishful thinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit this had like a billion different directions it could've gone. 
> 
> I ended up deleting half the chapter only to want it back but I couldn't get it back so I'm kinda annoyed at myself for that one...it also wasted three hours of writing so well done me. (hence the slight delay to posting agh.)
> 
> I'm really happy with the last part of this chapter and it somewhat refers to my next big project so stay tuned for that (it'll be like end of November sometime and some of you may already know what it is).
> 
> I'm super thankful to everyone who read/commented/left kudos, you all rock and I hope that this last chapter does the fic justice - I may (key word MAY) do a few one shots of deleted scenes and slip them into my request series. I don't know, I have a lot of writing projects this month.

  
Aomine awoke first the next morning, feeling the warm breath of Kagami on his cheeks as he rolled over away from the window. He swallowed, head a little fuzzy but all too aware of what had happened last night. He still had his pants on, that was confirmed quickly, his eyes flickered to Kagami's bare chest, littered with small dark marks made in the drunken haze. He wondered how many marks _he_ had.

His fingers reached out slowly and closed around the chain around Kagami's neck, the one that held the ring Himuro gave him. He pondered for a while about its origin and how precious it was to the ace before loosely slipping it on his pinky finger. It stopped before the main joint, he resisted the urge to force it through, he didn't want to be literally stuck to Kagami.

"Don't do it." Kagami uttered, opening his eyes and giving Aomine a sleepy smile.

"Morning to you too." Aomine scowled, letting the ring fall back against the ace's chest.

Kagami pressed his lips against the other's, morning breath ignored as the warmth spread throughout the other's body. He moaned slightly before Kagami's lips were replaced by a finger.

"Don't wake Tetsu."

"Or what?" He uttered against the digit.

"You'll end up bottoming for a long time."

"Like you could make me a sub." Aomine smirked.

"I never said _I_ would." Kagami remarked.

Aomine hadn't actually clocked where Kuroko was until that fatal moment. A tender kiss was pressed to the shell of his ear, he shuddered as a gentle hand danced up his spine.

"Remember Daiki, the brighter the light, the darker the shadow." A husky voice stated.

 

\---

 

Akashi loved Halloween. He loved it because it was the one holiday where he could relax a little bit, there were less likely to be formal gatherings that his father had to attend and it was a chance for him to unwind a little. Normally he didn't celebrate it as such but he did enjoy indulging in the horror flicks on TV late at night and tricking his team-mates at school.

This year however, he had a lodge of teenagers and a lot of alcohol.

"How do I look Kouki?" He smirked. The make-up perfected his vampiric look and Furihata could only nod as his eyes roved over his boyfriend's perfection; smart black tuxedo dark in contrast to the paled face and striking red hair.

"You should let me dress you up too." He purred, caressing the smaller boy's cheek and playfully nipping at his neck. Furihata shook his head and stepped away.

"Nah...I mean, you look fantastic Sei and I wouldn't want to upstage you."

The heir smiled warmly, knowing that his boyfriend had chosen his words so carefully to not put either of them down. He shrugged and kissed the other's cheek.

"Let me know if you have a change of heart my dear." He murmured. "Now let's go and see what the others have thrown together."

The first thing Akashi noticed was how quiet it seemed, secondly it was how dark the lodge was. Naoki hadn't been around to open the drapes, not that the heir minded, it made the place seem a little more spooky. He smirked and set to work showing Furihata where he had stowed all the decorations for today, a small closet that had been locked all week, and started handing the other various candles that would be lit all around the lodge.

Takao had been lurking in the shadows, he smirked as he watched Furihata's arms be filled with more and more candles before sneaking up behind the point guard.

"Boo." He breathed in the brunette's ear.

Furihata startled and dropped the candles, gaining a confused look from Akashi. The heir regarded Takao with an unamused glare before really taking in the other's appearance.

"Nice cat ears." He remarked. "Grow them yourself?"

"Thanks." Takao smiled, crouching down to pick up some of the fallen candles. "Sorry about that Furi, I couldn't help myself."

The three of them went about placing the candles throughout the lodge, meeting up in the basement as Kasamatsu appeared from the bathroom.

"Oh god you're not expecting me to dress up are you?" He sighed, taking in the vampire and what he could only assume was a neko.

"As long as Kise does, you're pardoned." Akashi replied, striking a match and lighting the first of many candles.

With a grunt and an uncertain nod the older male stepped back into his room and shut the door tightly.

Kise regarded him with a startled gaze before showing him the phone that he had been staring at. Imayoshi had been posting a lot of tweets the previous night, one in particular seemed sketchy.

_'It's nice to have a challenge once in a while'_

"Well that bodes well." The ex-captain sighed, already at his limit for Imayoshi's schemes for the day before it had hardly begun.

 

\---

 

Midorima's costume seemed fitting according to Kise; the grim reaper or - as the blond put it - killer of joy. Takao laughed when his lover stated that a scythe was his lucky item for the day and Furihata wondered who the hell came up with that idea, not at all surprised that Akashi had a freaking scythe lying around the lodge.

Kise's attire was somewhere between a vampire and a witch, he moved with the same grace that Akashi did but it a lot more cackling and flicking of a so-called wand. Kasamatsu rolled his eyes and refused to take part at first until Takao declared that he had some spare cat ears. A series of pleas and kisses eventually persuaded the ex-captain to submit to the blond's wishes.

"Kasa the witch's cat?" Aomine remarked, strolling down the hallway as he fixed his cuff-links and adjusted his hat.

"Aomine the...pirate?" Takao retaliated from where he was sprawled across the couch, much like a cat.

"Admiral." The ace corrected.

Kise chuckled. "So where's Kagamicchi and Kurokocchi?"

Aomine shrugged and paced over to the fireplace, brass buttons on his blue waistcoat shining in the glow of the flames. The sound of movement upstairs preceded Himuro's entrance, he wasn't in costume for one reason or another but the smile on his face was something special.

"You're happy." Kasamatsu remarked, trying not to fiddle with the cat ears clipped to his hair. "How come?"

"I convinced Atsushi to dress up as something other than food." He chuckled.

Before anyone could ask what he meant, the slow heavy footsteps interrupted them. Murasakibara came into view wearing his normal clothes but his shirt was slightly more dishevelled than usual and had some rips to it.

"Oh my god what happened Murasakirbaracchi?" Kise grinned, getting the first glimpse as the green tinted face came into view.

"Muro-chin wanted me to be Frankenstein." He murmured, lifting his fringe to reveal the black stitching that Himuro had drawn on. "He promised me candy."

Akashi nodded in approval at the efforts so far, he wondered where Naoki had gotten to but that thought was put on hold when Kuroko and Kagami finally graced them with their presence. It was no surprise that Kuroko was a ghost, at least he had gotten a proper costume for it rather than just throwing a sheet over his head like one year. Kagami had also gone down the vampiric route but he had bat wings attached to his cape and a top hat to match.

"So all we need is the shadow king himself and things can get started." Aomine remarked.

 

\---

 

Kagami had taken it upon himself to prepare lunch; a small stew and some pumpkin pancakes for dessert which both went down well as they waited for a certain person to get out of bed. Imayoshi hadn't emerged from his room yet and Naoki was nowhere to be seen. Akashi decided to get to the bottom of it quickly. With Kise's help he picked the lock on the demon captain's room door and let it swing open.

Neither of them were prepared for what they found. The blond nearly burst out laughing from nerves but his ex-captain's glare did enough to dissuade him. The heir stepped into the room, walking around the bed with a neutral expression, eyes roving over the two males wrapped up in the sheets.

"Akashicchi?" Kise whispered from the doorway. "What...what are you--"

Akashi put up a hand to silence the blond. He then pointed to the dark marks on Imayoshi's neck with a smirk and a raised eyebrow before quickly moving back to the doorway. He pushed Kise out of the way and slammed the door behind them, waking up the two of them with a start.

The two miracles walked back to the lounge area, there was a pause before Imayoshi emerged with a smirk, shirt barely buttoned properly, hair lazily combed through and marks on show for everyone to see.

"Afternoon Shoichi." Akashi greeted. "Did you enjoy fucking my butler?"

Laughter broke out as Imayoshi didn't seem to care, there was nothing to be ashamed of in his mind. Naoki on the other hand hadn't left the room yet. Furihata slipped away from the chaos to seek out the butler, he was pacing the room shirtless, running his hands through his raven hair and muttering to himself.

"Naoki?" The brunette greeted. "Are you okay?"

"Is the young master angry Kouki?"

Furihata closed the door firmly behind him. "No, he's not mad. He's indifferent to my knowledge."

The older male sighed. "I don't know what came over me...oh god please tell me he's at least seventeen."

"Yeah, he's at university."

The tension in the room seemed to ease, Naoki sighed again and smiled. "Get back out there, Seijuurou wants to spend as much time with you as possible Kouki. Make him happy, he deserves it."

Furihata smiled back and nodded. "I'll do my best."

"That's all you need to do. All he'll ever ask for is your good intentions, especially on days like this."

 

\---

 

Apple bobbing was on the agenda apparently, it had a slight twist to it as a dash of alcohol was added to the water that the apples soaked in. Himuro was pressured to go first, Kise's phone already poised to film the entire event.

"Just imagine it's Mura's dick." Aomine remarked.

"Why on _earth_ would he want to _bite_ it?" Kagami challenged as Himuro broke down in laughter. "You clearly need some lessons in that."

"You do realise Kise is filming right? Are you sure you want to discuss this here?" The other replied, watching water slosh over the side of the punchbowl they were using.

Both of them were slapped around the back of the head by Kuroko just as Himuro had his face shoved further into the bowl by Imayoshi, managing to grab an apple between his teeth despite getting his entire fringe soaked in the 'water'.

"Taiga. You're next." He declared, taking a bite out of the fruit. "Considering you seem so knowledgeable with the practice."

The Seirin ace lightly punched Aomine's arm as he got up. "Watch and learn Aho."

He knelt by the table and raised an eyebrow at Kise's phone before plunging his face into the bowl. The alcohol smelt vaguely of vodka but he wasn't sure, all he focused on was trying to get one of the slippery fruits in his mouth. All he knew was that this video was probably going to end up on Facebook somewhere and he was going to have to answer to his team-mates if he lost.

When he eventually got hold of one he nearly knocked the table over with his knee as he stood up again. Raising his arms in victory as he released the apple into Aomine's hand.

"Your turn."

After many more rounds, the apples becoming more and more difficult to grasp, Akashi put a stop to it and declared that he had a much more exciting game they could play. He ordered the lights to be turned off throughout the lodge, Naoki - who had since regained his composure and gotten dressed - nodded and went around plunging the building into near darkness, only the candles illuminating the area.

"Hide and seek." The heir stated. "We'll have one seeker, Naoki will make sure they don't cheat, the rest of the group will hide somewhere in the lodge. The seeker will have this candle to help him search but that is all."

Everyone seemed up for it, except Midorima - so called killer of joy - but he complied for the sake of Halloween spirit.

Takao volunteered to be the first seeker, someone had to after all, and was escorted to the back corner of the basement lounge to wait under Naoki's supervision.

He was given the one candle and told he could start searching, he smirked as he surveyed the lounge, no-one was left it seemed and the door to Kise and Kasamatsu's room was wide open. He walked quietly, Naoki three paces behind him to make sure nothing went wrong with the candle.

With the Kaijou ace's room clear he moved down the hall, the bathroom was empty, as was Imayoshi's room. Takao paused outside Kagami's room, listening for the signs of life that would give away someone's position. The door opened easily, he felt more inclined to check this room thoroughly.

Naoki stood in the doorway, observing how the point guard searched high and low with candle in hand. Akashi had subtly put a time limit on the seeker, the candle wasn't very large and eventually it would become too hot to handle safely. If Takao didn't find everyone within that time then he'd be relying on the few candles that were set up earlier.

Few being the key word.

Takao huffed, flame dancing as he concluded no-one was on the basement level. It was odd, he thought but nevertheless he proceeded to venture upstairs. He definitely heard someone shuffling in the bathroom. He did think about cheating and using his hawk eye to navigate easier and pick out movements but then he realised how much trouble he'd get into.

Kise was in the shower. Takao raised an eyebrow at the blond as the glow of the candle reflected off the tiles. He found Midorima in their room - so creative - and Aomine in the closet of their room. The kitchen was the obvious place to find Murasakibara but it was actually Kasamatsu who he found sat on the floor behind the island counter.

So that left Akashi, Furihata, the two Seirin aces, the Yousen players and Imayoshi left.

Himuro was led nonchalantly on one of the couches shrouded in the shadows, Murasakibara was actually proving rather difficult to find despite his height. As Takao debated whether to head upstairs or take another look around the first floor he heard someone muttering in the closet where the candles came from.

"I told you not to say anything Taiga." Kuroko remarked as the point guard found them.

By this point the candle in Takao's hand was beginning to dwindle a little. He made his way upstairs and nearly tripped over Furihata. Akashi wasn't far away, hiding under the bed with an orange eye to match the candle. Murasakibara and Imayoshi were still missing.

Admitting defeat as the candle started to burn his hand, Takao called it. Everyone met up in the basement lounge in the glow of the other candles as he admitted to not being able to find the other two.

"Wait, how do you miss Murasakibaracchi?" Kise asked.

"Do you know where he is?" The point guard replied.

"No." Kise scoffed.

"And Imayoshi? Great we're all doomed." Kagami sighed.

Akashi lit another candle and gave it to Himuro. "Go with Takao and find them."

The shooting guard rolled his eyes but nodded. He accompanied the smaller boy upstairs and did a sweep of the kitchen and dining area again. He vaguely knew that his lover was on the first floor but not sure where exactly.

"Did you think to look in our room?" Himuro asked, turning the handle. Takao shook his head and peered inside, sure enough the giant was asleep.

"So now we only have a psychopath loose. Great." Takao remarked as Himuro woke the other boy up. A clatter from the bathroom upstairs sent Takao scrambling, determined to find the shadow king. The light was on which surprised the boy, he cautiously walked inside.

The demon king had been lying in wait, when the point guard turned to leave he pounced, pulling a startled scream from Takao that brought Himuro running.

 

\--- 

 

Imayoshi rarely apologised for anything, he found it incredibly amusing when he managed to get a rise out of people however the look he got from Naoki was enough to make him think a little bit more.

"My apologies." He smirked as everyone met up in the basement lounge.

"Apologies?!" Takao spluttered wide-eyed from Midorima's lap, the ace hadn't complained when his slightly shaken lover had bolted into his arms but he wasn't exactly impressed by the cause.

"Oh-kay calm down everyone." Kagami sighed. "Let's all just take a breath and--"

"Bake." Murasakibara uttered. "Kaga-chin should bake."

"No...we should--"

"Sing!" Kise declared. "We should do karaoke again."

"No!"

Aomine was laughing, Akashi didn't seem bothered by the proceedings, he had enjoyed himself enough and was more than content with curling up with Furihata. Kuroko and Kasamatsu shared a neutral expression as the aces began to bicker.

"Okay. How about we just sit here together and enjoy a quiet-ish night for once? No games, no movies, no crazy schemes...just sit and act like _normal_ people?" Kagami finally managed to get out.

"Can we have hot chocolate again?" Furihata asked. "With marshmallows? Sei can we roast marshmallows over the fire?"

Akashi nodded, a little tired but he knew Naoki would sort it out accordingly. So the group settled down with mugs of soothing drinks and fluffy marshmallows, the room lit up by the fireplace and the candles, a calmness falling quickly.

These were the moments that they all craved really, not to say that the chaos that had been the last week wasn't fun, but the more calm and collected times were appreciated. A conversation was kept going but for the most part the couples found themselves feeling sleepy in the warm haze.

Kise tried, and failed, to get Aomine to do the chubby bunny challenge, leaving Murasakibara to continue half-heartedly roasting the marshmallows over the fire as Himuro nuzzled his neck. The blond lay between Kasamatsu's legs with his head resting on the other's chest, glancing up through his fringe at his boyfriend's soft, sleepy expression.

There was the rare sight of Midorima holding Takao close to him, murmuring soft words into the point guard's ear to try and calm him down further. The smaller boy nodding into the ace's chest and sighing in content. Akashi had already sent Furihata halfway to dreamland by slowly stroking his hair whilst listening to Kagami recount a story from his childhood.

Aomine had Kuroko's head in his lap, the shadow wasn't asleep but would be soon probably, and Kagami's arms around his shoulders. He felt pretty content in that moment, there was a slight pang in his chest as he realised he'd probably have to play them in the Winter Cup that year but it would add some spice to the relationship they had.

"Where's Imayoshi?" Kasamatsu asked, noticing that he wasn't in the room anymore.

"As long as they don't disturb the rest of us I said they could do whatever the hell they wanted." Akashi stated crudely. "It keeps him busy and Naoki's a free man anyway."

It got an unexpected chuckle from the group. As much as they bickered at each other, pulled horrible pranks and made harsh jokes, they did enjoy each other's company really. It was a shame that they had all gone to separate schools, if they had all been in one place they may have gotten along sooner.

Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

In Aomine's mind, if he hadn't gone to Touou then he wouldn't have played against Kagami and Kuroko. If he hadn't played against them then he wouldn't have given them the boost they needed to get to the Winter Cup. If _that_ hadn't happened then they wouldn't have played Akashi and re-awoken the 'old' Akashi from middle school and then none of that week's events would've happened.

Aomine wouldn't have realised he was into guys.

He wouldn't be sat here with his rival's arm around his shoulders as his old team-mates joked about his high school captain's scheming tendencies.

He wouldn't fall asleep that night with his old best friend pressing sleepy kisses to his neck and Kagami's soothing fingers on his stomach.

In a way, he was glad that everything had played out the way it did.

He'd skip on the vodka next time though, even if it was supposedly responsible for this turning out so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, again many thanks to all of you who gave me feedback - it's super helpful for me to know what I need to improve and I never claim to know everything!
> 
> I hope to see you around for my next few projects, writing fanfic is literally all I have to keep me going these days so it's always nice to know that people are enjoying my hours of work.
> 
> So yeah, (I say that a lot jfc). thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> \- Bryn


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